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Tag: Sheriff

  • PDP crisis stays as Sheriff insists Makarfi must resign

    PDP crisis stays as Sheriff insists Makarfi must resign

    The factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has called for the dissolution of the Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee as a condition for reconciliation.

    He also rejected the choice of Port Harcourt as venue of the party’s National Convention slated for August 17.

    The last convention, which was disputed, was held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    Sheriff tabled these and other demands as conditions for truce in the PDP.

    He told reporters yesterday that he had made it clear to Governors Darius Ishaku (Taraba) and Ibrahim Dankwabo (Gombe) that the caretaker committee was an aberration to the PDP constitution.

    The former Borno State governor was receiving a delegation of PDP supporters from 17 local government areas of Abia State who visited him in Abuja.

    He asked to be allowed to nominate 10 members into the convention committee, with the Makarfi group also nominating 10 members.

    Sheriff said the convention should hold in Abuja.

    He dismissed claims that he was the problem with the PDP, saying the crisis in the party was being fuelled by some persons who regard the PDP as their personal property.

    He vowed to resist such persons, saying there will be no room for them to operate as long as he remained chairman.

    Sheriff said: “People are very interested in our party and how the crisis will be settled  before the Port Harcourt convention, which was aborted by a court order.

    “Yes, we met and issues were discussed but all the issues I put forward to them was for the Makarfi caretaker committee to resign.

    “Since it is (committee) an aberration as far as our party constitution is concern. I told them that I am not ready to be a permanent chairman but I want the party to be placed in proper stead.

    “If he resigns tomorrow, I will ask the members of my National Working Committee (NWC) whose tenure will expire in 2018, including myself to resign.

    “Then, we will set up a convention committee in Abuja and put respected members and leader at the wards as members of the committee.

    “In that convention, I will give away my mandate that does not expire until 2018 and I remain the national chairman of this party until 2018.

    “If the leaders of our party felt that we can find a solution without exhausting the pending court processes, then I am open to a political solution.

    “There is nothing like what has been reported. If you do not stand on the truth, the end result will be a serious distraction.

    The leader of the Abia delegation, Mr. Chidi Nwosu called on Sheriff to look into the flawed congresses in Abia with the view to correcting the anomalies.

    Nwosu said the congresses were conducted by a few powerful men who sat in their hotel rooms and picked the delegates.

    Sheriff appears to have lost the support of one of his main backers. Senator Buruji Kashamu yesterday called on him to embrace peace.

    The senator said it was time for the disputants to bury the hatchet in order to reposition the party for constructive opposition role.

    Kashamu who represents Ogun East senatorial district, stated this in a statement in Abuja yesterday.

    Kashamu said he opted to join Sheriff at the initial stage because the party leaders did not consult him before removing Sheriff as chairman.

    He said: “When I was asked by our leaders to support our revered national leader, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, as the national chairman, none of the leaders told me that they had changed their mind.

    “Therefore, my support was to maintain the dignity and respect for the office of the National Chairman.

    “Disputes and disagreements are part and parcel of any dynamic organization. But while we disagree, we must not throw away the baby with the bath water as true party men and women. There must be room for resolution of the disputes and disagreements.”

     

     

    “Therefore, I can only plead with our great leader, Sheriff, who has been hurt, to soft-pedal and let go, in the interest of the party and our teeming members. He has shown that he is a principled man and a courageous person.

    “Since he and Makarfi have said they are not interested in contesting for the office of national chairman of the party at the national convention, he should encourage all his people to participate in the process leading to the rescheduled national convention.

    “ I wish to enjoin all my leaders, elders, associates and supporters in the Southwest to join hands with all our states, zonal and national leaders to move our party forward. Let’s sheathe our sword and put an end to recriminations and infighting”.

  • Sheriff casts long shadow on Lagos PDP crisis

    Sheriff casts long shadow on Lagos PDP crisis

    The crisis within the Lagos Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) mirrors the current division at the national level. The General Assembly meeting in Lagos was disrupted by youths loyal to the Sen. Ali Modu-Sheriff faction. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE, who was at the event, reports that the leadership tussle has permeated the states.

    At a time the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is embarking on a fresh reconciliation and observers are saying that there are now prospects of peace; the crisis in the party reared its head in Lagos last week.

    The optimism followed last week’s national caucus meeting convened by the Sen. Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee and attended by members of the Board of Trustees (BoT), state governors and principal members of the National Assembly elected on the party’s platform, where stakeholders agreed to hold a fresh convention in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on August 17, to elect new national executives.

    But, the fracas that took place during the Lagos General Assembly meeting last Wednesday suggests that there is a deep rancour between the Makarfi-led faction and the one led by the out-of-favour National Chairman, Sen. Ali Modu-Sheriff. Right from the beginning of the meeting, stakeholders conducted themselves in the atmosphere of fear and suspicion.

    The meeting was convened to look at the challenges of the party and prepare for future elections in the state. The General Assembly was also expected to take a position on the crisis at the national level; the chapter was to decide its position over who controls the national executive between Makarfi and Sheriff.

    As the house moved the motion for the ratification of the efforts of the Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee to proceed with the task of rebuilding the party, pandemonium was let loose. Though the endorsement eventually scaled through, it process was momentarily disrupted, as some members of the party led by the Lagos West Senatorial candidate during the last general elections, Segun Adewale (a.k.a. Aeroland) stormed the secretariat with youths loyal to Modu-Sherriff. at about 9.30 am.

    The youths, who forcefully entered the secretariat at about 9.30am, later engaged supporters of the Makarfi-led faction in a fight. This caused some uproar at the secretariat. The Lagos chapter’s Organising Secretary Taiwo Kuye and two other members sustained machete cut in the process and were later rushed to the hospital.

    The meeting later resumed but it was held amidst fear and suspicion. Deputy Chairman Sakirudeen Olabiwonnu was in-charge of the proceedings, because the Chairman, Moshood Salvador, came in late.

    Olabiwonnu apologized for the interruption, adding that it caused by divisive elements bent on dividing the party. He added that no individual can kill the collective aspirations of the people and that those who want to hold the party to ransom will be disgraced. He said what was paramount for the party was to take it to greater heights where every member of the party and Nigerians will happy and pray for the party to bounce back to power.

    Salvador also assured members that he would work towards bringing peace to the chapter, by providing a level-playing ground for every member. He said: “We will not allow those bent on creating problem to distract us. God will support us to surmount the internal wrangling. What happened today is the height of indiscipline. I have moved across party lines, but have never witnessed this type of distraction. I was in the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Alliance for Democracy (AD), there was never a time a member had the effrontery to take the party to court.

    “It is in our constitution that you must solve the problem within; and, if you remember, our founding fathers used to say anything that happened in the PDP is a family affair. These people are telling us that they are not part of the family. For any person to come and try to put commotion into what we do or cultivate court cases against any member, shows that the person is not normal.”

    Commenting on the uproar, an aide to Adewale, Mr. Tosin Odunsi, said they were not in the secretariat to fight anybody, but to restate that due process must be followed. He said: “Adewale is the popular party chairman in the state. He has been supporting the party all the way, to make the party great. But, what we are saying is that we want change in leadership, because those who have been leading the Lagos chapter have not won any election in the last 16 years.

    “The Bode George group wants to be using the Lagos secretariat, but we said no, there are court cases pending; it is when those cases are trashed out that we will know who should use the secretariat, the Salvador or the Adewale-led executive.”

    Observers have attributed the leadership struggle in the PDP as a payback time for the party, saying Nigerians suffered under the party’s watch when it was in control. Buttressing this position, Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant, Dr. Olusegun Abraham, said the party is the architect of its own nemesis. He explained that it is God’s hand at work, because the party mismanaged the commonwealth of the people.

    Abraham said the way the PDP led Nigeria in its 16 years at the helms brought the country into the kind of mess it has found itself today. He said: “If the PDP is in crisis today, it is because the party has been thrown out of its avarice and gluttonous tendencies. That is what has replicated itself in Ondo; the government is beating its chest that it has provided service; whereas my people are suffering, civil servants are being owed and agriculture which used to a major contributor to the nation’s wealth has fallen from the pinnacle.”

    Former PDP Deputy National Chairman, Chief Olabode George, has consistently appealed to those in court to align with the principles of the founding fathers. He urged those in court to have a rethink in order to move the party forward. He said: “All we are looking for is the solution to move the party forward. I passionately appeal to Sherriff and others to withdraw their cases from the court, if they are truly committed to the progress of the PDP. I am also appealing to those in the Southwest to remember that posterity will not judge them rightly, if they fail to do what is right.

    “We have to re-strategise in a manner that will take care of the fact that we are not in government. Our strategy must reflect the fact that we are in opposition and we must be a credible, formidable opposition. Otherwise, the public will not believe us; they won’t trust us.

    “What Sherriff does not understand is that the PDP is not the defunct All Nigerian People Party (ANPP). The PDP is a formidable grassroots political party and we have an incredible resilience. Of course, it is affecting our focus, because of the court injunctions; political parties are not run that way.

    “I want to say also that we should take part of the blame, because when this judicial rascality came into the party, there is a section in the party’s constitution that forbids any individual from going to court without exhausting all the avenues within the party.”

    But, the Deputy National Chairman of the Modu-Sherriff faction, Cairo Ujuogboh, said the faction is ready to end the crisis on the condition that it is allowed to hold a fresh national convention and handover to a democratically-elected national chairman.

    He said: “As far as I am concerned, Ali Modu-Sheriff is ready to step down, but he does want to be disgraced. He must be given the opportunity to sit at a convention where he will hand over the affairs of the party properly. This is what we have told the governors; what is fair is fair. Sherriff did not say he wants to continue to be chairman. What he said is that he wants to handover to a democratically-elected chairman.

    “As far as the law is concerned, Sherriff is still the PDP chairman today, but he is ready to convene a convention to handover. The crisis rocking the party is because of 2019.”

    The crisis has taken its tolls on the governorship election coming up in Edo and Ondo states. No sooner the Makarfi-led committee endorsed Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as the candidate of the party for the Edo September election, than the Sherriff group declared it illegal.

    Sherriff went ahead to produce Matthew Iduoreyekemwen as the party flag bearer. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has however recognised Pastor Ize-Iyamu as authentic candidate of the party. The matter is still pending the determination of the court. Reacting on the development, Ojougboh said INEC was yet to communicate to the party and that the matter was under review.

    He said: “As we speak today, the order of the Federal High Court in Abuja specifically ordered INEC to accept Iduoreyekemwen’s candidature. As such, the Port Harcourt judgment cannot reverse the specific orders that INEC can only accept candidate for the Edo and Ondo elections from the Sherrif-led PDP.”

    Ize-Iyamu said he would not be distracted by the development, adding that his efforts were geared at ensuring that Edo returned to the PDP. He said: “A lot of our members are worried, but quite frankly, I’ m not. I believe it will sort itself out. I know that there is a lot of engagement on-going at the various levels. At the end of the day, the matter will be sorted out.

    “To worry about it amount to distraction. I have chosen to focus on the issues here rather than issues I have no control over. I’m happy that the primary we had was witnessed by INEC and they have expressed satisfaction with the transparency of the process.”

    Since the emergence of Modu-Sheriff as the party’s helmsman, the opposition party had been thrown into chaos; rendering it incapable of playing its role effectively. From all indications, the party is making frantic efforts to put its house in order. Sen. Makarfi told reporters after last Thursday’s meeting that the party would amend its constitution to address some of the reasons why a Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, nullified the last amendment done by the party.

    He said: “We discussed some programmes leading to the convention, meaning that the national convention will hold on Aug. 17 in Port Harcourt, where we will elect new national executive officers of the party. We have also discussed and agreed on a new amendment to the constitution in view of recent court judgments in order to align the constitution to the judgments that have been delivered by court of competent jurisdiction.”

    Makarfi said the committee’s reconciliation process is yielding positive result, as evidenced by the presence of Sen. Buruji Kashamu, a close ally of Sheriff. His words: “You can see for yourself, our brother, friend and associate, Sen. Buruji Kashamu; that is evidence of the reconciliation making progress. I can assure you that we will never foreclose full reconciliation with the disputed National Chairman, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff and another person that may still be associated with him.

    “What we want is an all inclusive PDP; with an equitable, fair and just system. We have equally set up a special committee led by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, to further cement the reconciliation going on in the Southwest, so that all issues that must have led to the division in the region would be resolved accordingly.”

    But, how far can the PDP go with the current reconciliation effort?

  • PDP crisis: Sheriff insists no agreement

    PDP crisis: Sheriff insists no agreement

    Former Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff declared yesterday that he had not reached agreement with anyone to relinquish his position as chairman of the party.

    His ally and former deputy national Chairman, Dr Cairo Ojuogboh ,told reporters in Abuja that contrary to insinuation that Sheriff was in the process of relinquishing power to Senator Ahmed Makarfi, Chairman of the party’s Caretaker Committee, there was no such development.

    The presence of Senator Buruji Kashamu, a strong ally of Sheriff at last week’s meeting of the PDP expanded national caucus meeting had been interpreted in some quarters as an indication of Ojuogboh what said. He said categorically yesterday that Sheriff has “not reached agreement with anybody, neither has he permitted anybody to conclude on any processes on his behalf.

    “We are continuing with our cases in court, we respect the rule of law. Sheriff will address a press conference on Monday (tomorrow) on the state of our party, PDP. Our goal remains to return the party to the people and stamp out impunity.”

    He said the issues that led to the crisis in the party which Senator Sheriff is trying to address have not been resolved.

    But yesterday, Sheriff emphasised that his faction was still pursuing its cases in court, but said that he would address the nation on the state of the party on Monday.

     

  • Sheriff rejects INEC’s acceptance of Ize-Iyamu as Edo PDP candidate

    Sheriff rejects INEC’s acceptance of Ize-Iyamu as Edo PDP candidate

    …As Makarfi harps on reconciliation

    The former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has rejected the recognition given to Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as the candidate for the September 10 governorship election in Edo State.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had, during the week, accepted Ize-Iyamu’s nomination. Ize-Iyamu’s name was submitted by the Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee.

    But, speaking in Abuja yesterday, Sheriff’s deputy, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, described INEC’s decision to accept Ize-Iyamu as a “mere rumour”.

    Ojougboh spoke while receiving a delegation of professionals from the Southsouth geo-political zone.

    Ojougboh said: ”We heard a rumour making the rounds that INEC has accepted another person as candidate of the PDP for the Edo State governorship election

    “I hereby dispel the rumour and categorically state that INEC has not yet communicated the decision to us”.

    According to him, INEC was still considering the judgements and court orders arising from the lingering leadership crisis

    He said the Federal High Court in Abuja had specifically asked the INEC to recognise only candidates presented by Sheriff.

    Ojougboh said: “The court in Port Harcourt is not superior to the court in Abuja, and as such cannot reverse the specific orders of the Abuja court ruling that INEC can only accept PDP candidates from the Sheriff-led executive for purposes of Edo and Ondo governorship elections.”

    He appealed to members of the party, particularly in Edo State, to remain calm as the matter was being sorted out. He urged the camp’s parallel candidate, Mr. Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, to continue with his electioneering campaign.

    The Makarfi camp has continued to record victories against the Sheriff camp in most of the court cases arising from the festering crisis in the party

  • Edo: Sheriff rejects INEC’s acceptance of Ize-Iyamu as PDP candidate

    Edo: Sheriff rejects INEC’s acceptance of Ize-Iyamu as PDP candidate

    The camp of ex-National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has rejected the recognition given to Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as the party’s candidate in the September 10 governorship election in Edo State.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had during the week accepted Ize-Iyamu’s nomination as PDP candidate in Edo State.

    Ize-Iyamu’s name was submitted by the Ahmed Makarfi led caretaker committee.

    But speaking in Abuja on Wednesday, a key member of Sheriff’s faction, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, described INEC’s decision to accept Ize-Iyamu as a “mere rumour.”

    Ojougboh spoke while receiving a delegation of professionals from the South-South geopolitical zone who called to declare support for the Sheriff camp.

    Ojougboh said, ‎”We heard a rumour making the rounds that INEC has accepted another person as candidate of the PDP for the Edo State governorship election

    “I hereby dispel the rumor and categorically state that INEC has not yet communicated the decision to us.”

    According to him, INEC was still considering all judgements and court orders arising from the party’s lingering leadership crisis

    He stated that the Federal High Court in Abuja had specifically asked the INEC to recognise only candidates presented by the Sheriff camp.

     

  • We must collectively resolve PDP crisis – Sheriff

    The  embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),  Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, has called on loyalists of the party to “work collectively towards ending the leadership crisis within the party.”

    Sheriff’s call is contained in a statement signed by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Mr. Inuwa Bwala, on Tuesday in Abuja, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    The statement urged PDP loyalists to be wary of smear campaigns and unite to find lasting solution to the crisis rocking the party.

    It added that the call was important following a recent report alleging that Senator Buruji Kashamu was a “godfather’’ to Sheriff.

    The statement described the report as “part of the mischief and orchestrated smear campaigns embarked upon by some people against Sheriff.”

    “We wish to state, for the avoidance of doubt, that Sheriff has no godfather in politics and Senator Buruji Kashamu could not have been one.

    “It is becoming clearer that the PDP National Chairman’s critics have run out of ideas on how to achieve their selfish agenda,”  it added.

     

  • Sheriff has nine PDP governors’ backing – Ojougboh

    Sheriff has nine PDP governors’ backing – Ojougboh

    The Ali Modu Sheriff camp of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the ex-Borno governor has the backing of nine out of the party’s 12 governors.

    The camp’s Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Cairo Ojuogboh, who stated this in Abuja on Tuesday, said aside Governors Nyesom Wike of Rivers, Ayo Fayose of Ekiti and Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta, the remaining PDP governors are behind Sheriff.

    Ojuogboh expressed optimism that the party would come out stronger when the lingering internal crisis is resolved.

    He said what is happening in the PDP would end up saving the party from future crisis, stressing that the party would have been ignorant and complacent if the crisis did not erupt.

    Ojougboh said, “If you look at what is happening in the party, there is no elder in the party. Newsmen always make the mistake by saying that the Governors’ Forum is in support of one group, the Board of Trustees are in support of one group and members of the National Assembly are in support of one group.

    “Have you heard any member of any of these bodies speaking out to support anybody, they are waiting for Sheriff to win so that there will be jubilation in the body polity of PDP and the country, because the party’s problem has been addressed.”

    Ojuogboh said the emergence of Sheriff was a divine act of God, adding that God does not make mistakes.

    He insisted that Sheriff’s mission was to reposition the party.

    The party chieftain stated that the Sheriff camp and the Ahmed Makarfi caretaker committee have been meeting with the view to resolving the crisis in other to position the PDP for the Edo and Ondo governorship polls.

    “We are already negotiating, negotiations and talks are already in top gear and we have made remarkable progress in the process of resolving the issues.

    “The two parties are talking very seriously in various fronts, and these talks have progressed. Last week the two major contenders were to meet, but for one reason or the other, one of them travelled and the meeting was postponed.

    “But the meeting will take place as quickly as possible and I want to assure you that the end is in insight and peace is achievable,” he stated.

     

  • Fayose, Sheriff: PDP’s preference for showiness over substance

    Fayose, Sheriff: PDP’s preference for showiness over substance

    NIGERIA is in a quandary what kind of politics to embrace between the ruling All Progressives Congress’ dull and graveyard-like politics, and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s colourful but superficial politics. Take the PDP. No two politicians in the opposition exemplify their party’s dynamic tendency for fruitless exuberance than the embattled and self-proclaimed Acting National Chairman of the party, Ali Modu Sheriff, a former Borno State governor, and Ayo Fayose, the troubled and also embattled Ekiti State governor. It is in fact a modern Nigerian paradox that while the ruling party is expected to offer the country all the fun and dynamism of governance and politics in consonance with democracy and all its corollaries, it is the exceedingly harassed PDP, with many of its leaders under siege, that is keeping Nigeria active, entertained and full of vigour and glamour. Given the self-righteousness of the APC and the propensity of its leaders to emasculate friends and enemies alike, the country would be suffering rigor mortis had the PDP not shaken things up a little with its lively politics.

    The PDP’s founding and cultural motif is boisterousness, the kind that draws sustenance from hard partying, election drama and melodrama, internal cut and thrust, and determined and unorthodox plots to exterminate opposition within and without. For the about 16 years the party was in office, it was always on war footing, and it had many bloody bouts and scars as mementoes of those dangerous and irreverent days. But somehow, by acts of omission or commission, and by dint of purposefulness or sheer indifference displayed in near equal measure, the PDP had managed to preserve some forms of democracy and even handed it, bloodied no doubt, over to the APC last year. The party never had substance, and never pretended to have it, nor knew what it meant not to have it. But that carefreeness which it had in abundance, and in which it enthusiastically cavorted, lathered the country to the point of suffocation. Mr Fayose and Senator Sheriff are the new faces of that old and enduring PDP, two men so gifted at quixotic politics it is hard to imagine anyone can better them, not even Nyesom Wike, the unflappable aurochs of Rivers politics, nor the 83-year-old Tony Anenih, the unprincipled politician with the cadaverous stare whom his friends and enemies rumour and perhaps want dead.

    While President Muhammadu Buhari constipates the country with depressing stories of the manic stealing carried out by past government officials and military officers with the active collaboration of bankers and anonymous civilians, the task of entertaining the public has rested on the Sheriff and Fayose duo. Senator Sheriff may not have the most polished or most admirable English elocution, but he more than makes up for that terrible lack with his stubbornness, wisecracks, evocative and combative language, and aphorisms. He is probably the only man alive who could take a three-month mandate to conduct his party’s national convention and transform it into something indefinite, nay, infinite, and continues to stick to it with the fanatical determination of an inquisitor. Much more, this unfettered politician is also probably the only man who could take that presumed mandate, leapfrog over the said infinite transformation, and attempt to land smack in the middle of a presidential candidature seized by him. It takes flourish to engineer such a display.

    It is not clear how Senator Sheriff does it: whether he buys the affections and loyalty of those around him, or whether his innate love for combat and natural iconoclasm are responsible for his matchless effrontery and daring. Whatever it is, both his party and the country are considerably flustered by his politics in a delectable and forgivable way. He has secured many court judgements; so, too, have his opponents. Every time his opponents get a judgement against him, Senator Sheriff calls the press, and in his inimitable way, regale them with his vibrant usurpation of the rules of grammar. Who cares! What is important to him is that he will not relent, and he will not surrender. The party’s administrative power may have deserted him, but he is happily not cognisant of that inconvenient fact. He is in denial. It is alleged he inspired a coup, sort of, to take over the party’s secretariat in Abuja. But when his opponents responded by organising their own putsch, he was willing to do another countercoup if the police had let him. When Mr Fayose backed his interim leadership mandate, he visited Ekiti and composed a rhapsody for the quarrelsome governor. But immediately Mr Fayose withdrew his support, Senator Sheriff became bellicose and abusive. It goes with the territory. Now, it is not clear what would finally do Senator Sheriff in; but from all indications he will continue to offer Nigerians the kind of entertainment the dull and sullen APC has been unable to give.

    Mr Fayose is even more colourful, albeit less courageous. He is enormously gifted with great and futuristic instinct. His implacable opposition to President Buhari in the months of the presidential campaign early last year was apparently inspired by his realisation that a Buhari presidency would be inimical to all the terrible stealing from the national treasury he and his confederates had masterminded. At the time, few knew what ailed Mr Fayose. Now with the horrifying Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) revelations of the stupendous amount of money stolen on behalf of the PDP and allegedly passed on to the Ekiti governor for electioneering and other unstated purposes, no one is in doubt why Mr Fayose had kept up his truculent opposition to the president. The huge sums, alleged the EFCC, were taken, given to the Ekiti governor, and diverted by him to buy splendid houses and live the good life. In short, the EFCC is alleging that Mr Fayose, far from the rambunctious, principled and ethical politician he claims to be, is nothing but a common thief with a big, indulgent and diabolical heart.

    Indulgent he might be, a pushover in political melodrama he was certainly not. He talked grimly and sarcastically of President Buhari’s senses and body, alleging the man was too old to think and too weak to work; and he alluded to the president’s programmes as too archaic to benefit a modern and complex country. Curiously, his views resonated with the public, and he was beginning to be seen as some sort of ethnic and ideological champion. Indeed, as the president became more impatient with the rule of law — the judiciary in particular — and herdsmen went on the rampage as the president looked askance, and the economy went into a tailspin, Mr Fayose seemed remarkably prescient. Alas, the Ekiti governor forgets that he who throws stone must not live in a glass house, and he who comes into equity must do so with clean hands. The moment the EFCC began to unearth details of what they allege are his financial malfeasance, Mr Fayose has become strangely reticent, even quiet.

    Both Mr Fayose and Senator Sheriff may be more colourful than any politician in the PDP at the moment or even in the past, but both gentlemen will find it difficult to compare with Tony Anenih who moderated his own colourfulness, when he reigned supreme in the same party, in such a way as to sugar-coat his uniquely bitter vituperations and politics. Mr Anenih’s politics is fluid, very fluid. Between 1992 and when he seemed to have been rendered a hors de combat by the equally feisty Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, he thought nothing of selling his political birthright on the altar of expediency and what he described as realism. He downplayed the significance of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) victory secured by MKO Abiola in 1993; he had before then been a strong member of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), a conservative party; and finally, he berthed at the PDP where in many elections he was part of the party apparatchik that orchestrated the mindless, extraordinary and colourful subversion of balloting and democracy.

    What binds all three politicians together, it is clear, is a weird taste for the ridiculously showy, a habit that became implanted in the former ruling party when ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo hijacked the leadership of the party and castrated its original founders. Yet, what the times call for is substance, a value that only ethical and rational party leaders can midwife. The PDP’s caretaker chairman, Ahmed Makarfi, a former Kaduna State governor, is thought to be a more stable and substantial leader, a somewhat more real and intellectual politician. But even if he were in excess of what many think him to be, he would still find it a herculean task surmounting the excitable and superficial base of the party, a base that is too solidly showy, pretentious, entertaining and coarse to deliver on the promises of the party’s founding fathers, not to talk of fulfilling the yearnings and aspirations of the electorate shortchanged by both the ruling and opposition parties.

  • ‘Only Sheriff faction can field PDP candidate for Edo poll’

    ‘Only Sheriff faction can field PDP candidate for Edo poll’

    The Ali Modu Sheriff camp of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has insisted that only the camp is allowed by law to field a candidate for the upcoming Edo state governorship election.

    The camp had, during the week, given the party’s governorship ticket to Mr. Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, thereby challenging the validity of the candidature of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu who was ratified by the rival Ahmed Makarfi caretaker committee.

    At a press briefing in Abuja yesterday, the Deputy National Chairman of the Sheriff camp, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, maintained that Sheriff is the only recognised national chairman of the PDP.

    “We have a point blank court judgment affirming Sheriff as the recognised PDP chairman that is allowed to submit names of governorship candidates for the Edo and Ondo states governorship election”, Ojougboh said.

    He dismissed calls by the Makarfi camp for Sheriff’s arrest by the security agencies, saying, if there is anyone to be arrested at all, it should be Makarfi and his group.

    Ojougboh said the Port Harcourt court judgment on the strength of which the Makarfi group accused Sheriff of contempt had been appealed, adding that a stay of execution had been filed in respect of the said judgment.

    A court in Port Harcourt had on July 4, affirmed the removal of Sheriff as PDP chairman and had also recognised the Makarfi committee as the authentic leadership of the party.

    But Sheriff had ignored the judgment and had gone ahead to field a parallel  candidate for the PDP in the Edo governorship election.

    Ojougboh stated that the Sheriff camp has been making efforts to reconcile with the Makarfi group, adding however that the Makarfi camp must be ready to a recognise Sheriff as chairman before reconciliation.

    “Arrangements are being made for reconciliation with the Makarfi camp. But, Sheriff must be given recognition as chairman for any progress to be made in the reconciliation efforts.

    “Recognition for Sheriff is the only panacea for peace in the PDP. Sheriff is ready to address the party’s flawed state and local government congresses that led to the crisis in the PDP”, Ojougboh said.

  • Makarfi seeks Sheriff’s arrest

    Makarfi seeks Sheriff’s arrest

    The Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the police to arrest “National Chairman” Ali Modu Sheriff for issuing a Certificate of Return to Matthew Iduoriyekemwen as the governorship candidate for Edo State.

    It described the action as “contempt of court”, which should be prosecuted.

    A statement yesterday by Publicity Secretary of the Makarfi faction, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said: “The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to order the arrest and prosecution of the former National Chairman of the Party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and Matthew Iduoriyekemwen for disobeying court judgment and charge them for contempt,” which he said, “should not be treated with levity”

    “We are shocked at the attitude of the former national chairman of our party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, who has become an authority in the country with flagrant disobedience of the Constitution, the Electoral Act and the PDP constitution without being arrested or detained by security agencies. Is he above the law? If we may ask”, Prince Adeyeye queried.

    The party said Justice Abdullah Mohammed Liman’s Judgment on July 4, 2016, is superior to other court rulings, ex-parte orders or interlocutory injunctions procured by Senator Sheriff and his co-travellers, saying his reliance on Justice Okon Abang’s ruling of Thursday, June 30, 2016, is an attempt to confuse the public as he has done in previous times.

    “You will recall that Senator Sheriff, in collaboration with some APC governors and members, invaded our party secretariat on Monday June 13, 2016, laying claims to a non-existing court order; and he has started again after a competent court issued a judgment upholding the decision of our national convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, which constituted the PDP National Caretaker Committee to pilot the affairs of the party for 90 days, and to conduct another convention that will elect new officers of the party. Following this, we are calling on the Police to do the needful by arresting Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, his co-travelers and  Matthew Iduoriyekemwen for disobeying court judgment”.

    The party declared that the PDP has kicked off its campaign for the governorship election in Edo State; and that the law as it stands only recognises Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as the authentic and only candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the September 10, 2016, election in the state.