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Tag: Sheriff

  • PDP and the Makarfi-Sheriff tango

    PDP and the Makarfi-Sheriff tango

    There is no end in sight to the leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Chairman of the Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, and the embattled former National Chairman, Senator Modu Sheriff, have shifted the supremacy battle to the court. Assistant Editor GBADE OGUNWALE writes on the effects of the protracted crisis on the opposition party.

    The festering leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has polarised the party. Senator Ahmed Makarfi and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff. Makarfi and Sheriff have not reached compromise.

    The two gentlemen are a pole apart in deeds and actions. Makarfi is soft natured, soft spoken with an unmistakable stamp of authority.

    The authority oozes from the trust his voice conveys to his audience. The supple-looking former Kaduna State Governor can be firm, if he had to. He’s urbane and wears a modest outlook wherever he finds himself. On the other hand, the brusque ex Borno State governor is direct, prickly and usually unapologetic. Sheriff doesn’t thrive much with euphemism making his point. Sheriff proved this in a recent verbal exchange with Makarfi in the course of the ongoing quake in the party.

    Makarfi had fired the first salvo when he accused Sheriff of been hired by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to destroy the PDP. But, Sheriff did not make his response to Makarfi’s accusation in just one sentence. He said it was indeed, the ex Kaduna governor and one of his team mates, Senator Ben Obi were in cahoots with an unnamed APC chieftain.

    He said: “If there are people in the PDP working for the APC, it’s Makarfi and Obi. Makarfi should not force me to reveal details that I should not reveal under normal circumstances. Makarfi and Obi have gone to visit this APC chieftain in his house twice and this particular individual is still in the APC.

    It would have been better if the man had left the APC to join the PDP. They are reserving the 2019 presidential ticket of the PDP for this individual who has been funding their activities. He continues, “If Makarfi continues to attack my person, I will be forced to reveal further details of their alliance. He’s not done. “Everybody in Nigeria knows this particular APC chieftain who wants to contest for president in 2019 on the platform of the PDP. So Makarfi should just shut up”.

    Since then, the accusations by the Makarfi camp, wrapping Sheriff up as a hireling of the APC, got simmered. The Abuja national secretariat of the party has been under lock and key for the past two weeks in the aftermath of attacks and counter-attacks by hirelings of the two factions. It was a fierce battle by the two camps to take over the secretariat building.

    Makarfi accused Sheriff of bringing in ECOMOG, a byword used to depict local political thugs associated with the latter. Sheriff retorted that Makarfi unleashed “Fulani herdsmen” on Prof. Wale Oladipo and Alhaji Adewole Adeyanju, National Secretary and National Auditor respectively.

    According to him, the mob was sponsored to cause bodily harm to the two party chiefs were at the secretariat to resume duties for the day. After a great deal of feather ruffling, the two gentlemen were allowed to leave the secretariat building with their bones and limbs intact. The political animosity between the two combatants was ignited at the party’s May 21 botched convention.

    The governors arrived the Port Harcourt venue of the convention only to tell Sheriff to back down as the National Chairman. His tenure, they said, had expired. To fill the vacuum, they hurriedly clobbered a Caretaker Committee, with Makarfi as chairman.

    Sheriff has been vehement in denouncing the committee, describing it as illegal at every given opportunity. The Makarfi committee has also been similarly tempered, particularly when arguments centred around where the leadership authority lies. Litigations started cascading over one another, as the two sides appeared to have made the courtrooms pilgrimage grounds. At the last count, such cases still pending before the various courts exceed the count of the fingers on one hand.

    The next few days will certainly see the loser rushing to perfect appeal papers with retained attorneys for onward transmission to the appellate court. It’s a political war of attrition that the combatants themselves must have envisaged. Sounding a bit reflective at one of his many media outings last week, Sheriff had offered to step down, if the court so ruled. But he did not specify whether he meant the court of first instance, the appellate court, or the apex court that has the final say.

    How long Sheriff could drag the matter remains a subject of conjecture for now. In courting Sheriff, the PDP governors must have underestimated the extent of the former Borno governor’s enormous capacity for the dogfight. Narrating how he was dragged into the chairmanship race, Sheriff said he never contemplated becoming the party’s chair.

    He was backing the aspiration of a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Alhaji Mohammed Abba Gana, who was one of the five contestants for the position at the time. Said he: “I was backing Abba Gana to become PDP chairman because I see him as my brother from the same Borno State as me. But, the governors, four of them, came to me to say that they wanted me to be the chairman. I told them that it would be morally wrong for me to accept the offer when I was already supporting one of the aspirants. I was already holding meetings with Abba Gana and I had assured him of my full support. But the governors insisted that I should come forward and take the job”.

    On why the two factions have failed to heed a call by the police for a peaceful resolution through dialogue, Sheriff said he was waiting for Makarfi to submit the list of his dialogue team to him. “I am waiting for Makarfi to formally submit the names on his list to me because I am the national chairman”, he said. Although the Makarfi camp has continued to express its willingness to dialogue with Sheriff, there are no visible signs to indicate that either side is predisposed to meeting across the conference.

    The two sides have returned to court, following the verdict of the High Court in Port-Harcourt that the Caretaker Committee was properly set up. As the waiting game is on, the two sides have gone a great length trying to outwit the other through claims and counter claims, actions and counteractions. It started with the Makarfi committee conducting a primary to pick a candidate for the party’s Edo state governorship election coming up in September. A candidate emerged in the person of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

    A few days after, Sheriff also set up his own team to conduct a parallel primary election to elect a different candidate. Prior to that, Sheriff had announced the suspension of the executive committee of the Edo state chapter on the strength of “various petitions” against the leadership of the chapter.

    But, the Makarfi camp had repudiated the said suspension order, insisting that Sheriff didn’t have the powers to take such a step and urged stakeholders in the chapter to ignore him. While the tango was going on, a court in the Federal Capital Territory voided the amendment to a section of the party’s constitution that facilitated the appointment of Sheriff as the national chairman. The Makarfi Committee has advised Sheriff to retrace his steps, based on the judgment. But, the Sheriff camp has said that the court did not sack the embattled chairman and that the judgement of was being misinterpreted. The court, presided over by Justice Valentine Ashi, nullified the 2014 PDP constitution amendment upon which Sheriff was appointed the PDP chairman.

    The court described the amendment as illegal and a violation of the Electoral Act. The Secretary of the Ahmed Makarfi -led caretaker committee, Senator Ben Obi, in an interview yesterday described the judgement as a welcome development. Said he, “We expect more positive court rulings in the days ahead in favour of our party. It is time for them to face the truth and retrace their steps”.

    He called on Sheriff and his supporters to stop their hard line posture and cooperate with the caretaker committee to move the party forward. “We believe that truth must be upheld; we want all hands to be on deck to chart the way forward”, Obi added. Repudiating the judgment, the National Secretary of the Sheriff faction, Prof. Adewale Oladipo said in a statement yesterday that “this is completely false and a clear misrepresentation of the ruling of the court as it never gave any ruling ousting the national chairman.

    The statement said, “Our attention has been drawn to reports circulating in the media that a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court has ousted the National Chairman of the PDP, Sen. Ali-Modu Sheriff. “For the avoidance of doubt, the court only heard and delivered judgment on a matter concerning certain amendments in the PDP constitution, which has nothing to do with the election of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the national chairman or even that of his predecessor, Alhaji Adamu Muazu.

    “Senator Ali Modu Sheriff was duly elected as the national chairman of the PDP. He still holds office as the national chairman and has not been removed by any court. We, therefore, urge those misleading the media and the unsuspecting public to desist from such. The media is also urged to always cross-check their facts before going to press”. So for the PDP, it’s one week, one trouble.

  • Sheriff issues Certificate of Return to parallel Edo PDP candidate

    Sheriff issues Certificate of Return to parallel Edo PDP candidate

    The embattled former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, yesterday gave a Certificate of Return to a parallel governorship candidate in Edo State, Mr. Matthew Iduoriyekemwen.

    The action is coming barely 24 hours after Justice Abdullahi Liman of a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, re-affirmed his sack.

    But Sheriff vowed to submit Iduoriyekwemwen’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the party’s governorship candidate for the September 10 governorship poll.

    Presenting the Certificate of Return to Iduoriyekwemwen in Abuja, the factional PDP chairman said he was relying on last week’s judgment delivered by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja in sending the factional candidate’s name to INEC.

    He said: “It is clear that from the Abuja High Court that INEC is obliged to accept the candidate we are to present.

    “You know, ideally, most of our officials have travelled for Sallah. We need to do this because on the first working day, we are going to submit our candidate’s form to INEC.

    “I have to stay behind to do some of the things to ensure that the forms are submitted after the Sallah break.”

    Presenting the report of the factional Edo State primary election to Sheriff, the committee’s Secretary, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, noted that 677 delegates were accredited for the primary while 502 voted.

    He said of 502 delegates who voted, Iduoriyekwemwen got 481 votes, adding that his challenger stepped down for him.

    Addressing reporters after the presentation of Certificate of Return, Iduoriyekwemwen, who chose former Edo PDP Woman Leader, Mrs. Herberta Okonofua-Ayo, as his running mate, denied being sponsored by Adams Oshiomhole-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration in the state.

    The candidate promised to embark on grassroots campaign and assure that PDP would become stronger in Edo after the governorship election.

    He added that his goodwill as a lawmaker and contributions to the state’s development were responsible for his large followership.

     

  • Again, Makarfi, Sheriff disagree on court’s ruling

    Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Makarfi and his rival PDP chairman, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, have again disagreed on the latest court ruling on the party’s festering crisis.

    A High Court in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, yesterday affirmed the Makarfi-led caretaker committee as the authentic leadership of the troubled party.

    In a statement in Abuja, Makarfi expressed satisfaction with the judgment.

    Said he: “I am indeed happy with the judgment, on the one hand but also sad that it had to come to this.

    “For me, there should be no winner or loser on this matter. I am still calling on Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and his followers to join us so that we accommodate one another and indeed all other groups in a just, fair and equitable manner with a view to moving the party forward.”

    But in a reaction shortly after the judgment, Sheriff said the ruling by the Port Harcourt court cannot supercede an earlier judgment delivered by an Abuja High Court, which recognised him as the national chairman of the PDP.

    The  former Borno State governor insisted that he remains the party’s national chairman, despite yesterday’s ruling.

    At a news conference in Abuja yesterday, Sheriff said the appeal process had also been initiated.

    He argued that both the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt and the court in Abuja that affirmed his chairmanship of the party are of coordinate jurisdiction.

    “I also want you to know that the court that gave judgement in Abuja High Court last week and the Federal High Court in Lagos, and today’s (Monday’s) judgment are all courts of same coordinate jurisdiction.

    “Therefore, the order we have in Abuja is still subsisting. What it means is that unless the Court of Appeal decides otherwise, I still remain the national chairman of the PDP.

    “Any court that is of the same jurisdiction cannot overrule another court, only the Court of Appeal can do that.

    “We disagree completely with today’s judgment. We have asked the same court to stay execution on the judgment.”

     

  • Sheriff out to destroy PDP, Makarfi committee insists

    The caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) insisted yesterday that the party’s embattled National Chairman, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, was only out to destroy the party.

    Spokesman for the committee, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said in a statement that Sheriff was in cahoots with agents of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on the mission.

    “Intelligence report available to us shows that Senator Sheriff  is in league with some agents of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) having nothing to lose and everything to gain if it helps destroy the PDP, has continued to enjoy the support of non PDP members to carry out their nefarious acts,” he said.

    PDP members across the country, Adeyeye said, are already aware of the evil desires of the former Borno State Governor and have chosen to ignore him.

    He also alleged that Sheriff and his group have been shopping and approaching the courts with dubious information for interlocutory orders to keep them afloat until they frustrate PDP’s gubernatorial elections in Edo and Ondo states as designed by their sponsors.

    His words: “Legitimacy in politics is not given through a procured interlocutory injunction but through the mandate of the people and Sheriff and his cohorts will soon realise this.

    “We are aware that Sheriff’s sponsors have urged him to sustain his illicit role for a while and create a semblance of a faction in the party to give way for some elected PDP members to take the advantage to decamp but unknown to them, members of our great party are aware of their game and have vowed to resist them.”

    The party urged the judiciary to be wary of dubious information and always block anything that could diminish their enviable role as the pillar in the sustenance of democracy in the country.

    The party  assured its members that the caretaker committee under Senator Ahmed Makarfi remains committed to discharging the assignment given to it by members and has refused to be distracted.

    The party warned its members to beware of Greek gifts being offered by agents whose mission is to kill the party.

  • PDP’s crisis may linger till 2019, says Sheriff

    PDP’s crisis may linger till 2019, says Sheriff

    The embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, has expressed fears that the leadership crisis that currently engulfs the party could drag till the 2019 general elections.

    He has therefore called on the party’s caretaker committee chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, and the governors elected on the party’s platform to join hands with him in bringing an end to the crisis.

    Speaking in Abuja through his National Deputy Chairman, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, the chairman said the various court cases instituted by the various groups could rob the party of the opportunity to present a common front for the 2019 general elections.

    He described the party’s governors as the most vulnerable should the crisis continue, stressing that they could lose the opportunity of re-election if the crisis persists.

    Ojougboh said: “I appeal to governors and elders of the party to join hands with me in moving the party forward. We need to find political solution to this crisis because the pending court cases could drag till 2019.

    “We should be able to sit together and look at the problem dispassionately. The Port Harcourt convention was illegal, so the caretaker committee is null and void.

    “Sheriff is ready and willing to make peace, but we must be ready to obey the rule of law and respect internal democracy. He is ready to hand over any day, but he is not prepared to be stampeded out of office.”

    The party chief noted that the crisis in the PDP is all about the 2019 presidential ticket, which he said has set different groups and interests against one another.

    Insisting that the courts cannot solve the party’s crisis, Ojougboh said Sheriff was ready to organise a proper convention to elect a new set of national officers to run the affairs of the party.

    He called on the governors and the party elders to formally dissolve the caretaker committee to enable the PDP make progress.

    “The PDP under Sheriff will not rely on government or governors to fund its activities because members will be made to pay their dues and a system of accountability will ensure the judicious use of the funds”, the party chief added.

    Ojougboh described the awaited July 4 judgment by a court in Port Harcourt as a mere academic exercise, declaring that the June 30 ruling by another Abuja court had rendered the pending Port Harcourt ruling ineffectual.

  • Court’s pronouncement on Sheriff an afterthought – Makarfi group

    Court’s pronouncement on Sheriff an afterthought – Makarfi group

    The Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday said the ex-parte order granted his rival, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, by a Federal High Court in Abuja is of no effect.

    The court had on Thursday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept only the names of candidates submitted to it by Sheriff in respect of the upcoming governorship election in Edo and Ondo States.

    In a statement issued by its spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, the committee described the order as null and void, saying the court’s pronouncement was an afterthought.

    “The ex-parte order granted to Ali Modu Sheriff’s rebellious group yesterday (Thursday) by the Honourable Justice Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja restricting INEC from accepting candidates for Edo and Ondo States 2016 gubernatorial elections from the PDP is of no effect, null and void. The PDP believes the order was granted in error by his Lordship due to misrepresentation of facts by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and his co-travelers,” the statement said.

    The committee further asserted that there were two court judgments of Tuesday, June 29 in Suit No: FCT/HC/CV/1867/2016 nullifying the 2014 amendments to the PDP Constitution used for the ratification of Sheriff’s predecessor, Dr. Ahmadu Adamu Muazu, as chairman.

    It added: “The judgment is in effect setting aside the appointment of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff who was appointed to complete the tenure of Muazu, and the second High Court judgment that vacated Sheriff’s suit is to the effect that Senator Ali Modu Sheriff is not supposed to be chairman of the PDP in the first place.

    “Nigerians and our teeming supporters will recall that the last court ruling that vacated Senator Sheriff’s suit on Thursday, June 30, 2016 even described him as a ‘busy body’ in the Judgment.

    “How can the court then grant an ex-parte order to a busy-body who has no locus in the party affairs?”

    The committee also described Sheriff’s deputy, Dr. Cairo Ojuogboh, as a rabble rouser, who is trying to hold on to the last straw for relevance.

     

  • Sheriff to Makarfi: Join me in moving PDP forward

    Sheriff to Makarfi: Join me in moving PDP forward

    The embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, has called on the party’s caretaker committee chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi and the party’s governors to join hands with him in moving the party forward.

    Speaking in Abuja through his National Deputy Chairman, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, Sheriff said there was urgent need for stakeholders to consider political solution to the party’s festering crisis.

    According to him, the various court cases instituted by the various groups against the party could drag till 2019, thereby robbing the party of the opportunity to present a common front for the 2019 general elections.

    He described the party’s governors as the most vulnerable should the crisis continue, stressing that they could lose the opportunity for re-election.

    Ojougboh said, “I appeal to governors and elders of the party to join hands with the leaders in moving the party forward. We need to find political solution to this crisis because the pending court cases could drag till 2019.

    “We should be able to sit together and look at the problem dispassionately. The Port Harcourt convention was illegal so the caretaker committee is null and void.

    “Sheriff is ready and willing to make peace but we must be ready to obey the rule of law and respect internal democracy. He is ready to hand over any day, but he is not prepared to be stampeded out office.”

    The party chief noted that the crisis in the PDP is all about the 2019 presidential ticket, which he said has set different groups and interests against one another.

    Insisting that the courts cannot solve the party’s crisis, Ojougboh said Sheriff was ready to organise a proper convention to elect a new set of national officers to run the affairs of the party.

    He called on the governors and the party elders to formally dissolve the caretaker committee to enable the PDP make progress.

    “The PDP under Sheriff will not rely on government or governors to fund its activities because members will be made to pay their dues and a system of accountability will ensure the judicious use of the funds,” Ojougboh added.

    He described the awaited July 4 judgment by a court in Port Harcourt as a mere academic exercise, declaring that the June 30 ruling by another Abuja court had rendered the pending Port Harcourt ruling ineffectual.

  • Abuja court sacks Sheriff

    Abuja court sacks Sheriff

    A twist was yesterday added to the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Apo, Abuja ordered factional Chairman Ali Modu Sheriff and other officers to refrain from parading themselves in those capacities.

    Justice Valentine Ashi of Court 29, High Court of the FCT, Apo, restrained individuals “currently parading themselves as the national officers of the PDP on the basis of  the purported amendment to the PDP constitution effected at a special convention held in Abuja on December 10 and 11, 2014.

    By the amendment of 2014, effected on Article Article 47 Paragraph 6 of the PDP Constitution, the party amended the provision which says in case of any vacancy, the National Executive Committee (NEC) can appoint an Acting Chairman from the area or sone where the last occupant of the office comes from “pending when election is conducted”  to reflect that  where there is a vacancy, the Acting Chairman shall “serve the tenure of the officer”, who left before the expiration of the tenure.

    Justice Ashi declared the 2014 amendment to the PDP constitution illegal on the ground that the party did not comply with Section 66(2)(3) of its constitution by not serving the National Secretary with a written copy of the proposed amendment two months before the convention, which the secretary was also required to circulate among state secretaries of the party a month before the convention.

    The judge, who stressed the need for the party to strictly adhere to the provisions of its constitution, added that the insertion of the clauses in Section 66(2) and(3) was to deepen democracy in the party and that they constituted conditions precedent that must be first fulfilled.

    The judgment was on a suit filed by a PDP member from Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State, Joseph Jero, against the PDP. The PDP was the sole defendant in the suit.

    The plaintiff, Jero, invoked the jurisdiction of the court to interpret sections 221(d) and 223 (1)(a) of the Constitution, Article 47(6) of the PDP Constitution as well as section 85(3) of the Electoral Act with regard to the appointment of a caretaker or chairman of the party’s constitution.

    The judge held that the process leading to the amendment of Article 47(6) of the party’s constitution did not comply the provisions in Section 66(2) and (3) of the party’s constitution.

    Justice Ashi dismissed the argument by lawyers to the PDP, including  Okere Kingdom to the effect  that the appointment of the party’s chairman was an internal affair of the party in which the court should not dabble.

    The judge held that although the issue was an internal affair of the party, the court had jurisdiction to determine whether the party complied with its own constitution and regulations.

    Justice Ashi did not specifically mention Shriff in his judgment, but ordered that those, who became national officers of the party by virtue of the 2014 amendment to the PDP constitution, which the court has declared unlawful, should cease to parade themselves in those capacities.

    After a thorough analysis of submissions by parties and evidence presented, Justice Ashi ordered that: “The purported amendment of Article 47, Rule 6 of the PDP, 2012 at a Special Conventions held on Wednesday and Thursday, 10 and 11 December, 2014 is unconstitutional, null and void as there was no compliance with mandatory provision of Article 66 (2) and (3) of the same constitution.

    “By reason of the above, the purported amendment of Article 47(6) introduced to PDP Constitution on the aforesaid dates, are hereby set aside.

    “All persons, individuals, officers, servants or agents of PDP parading themselves as the national officers of the PDP pursuant to the purported which has now been nullified are hereby restrained from further parading themselves in these capacities.”

    The original provision provided that in the case of a vacancy, the executive committee of the party either at ward, state or national level, should appoint a caretaker or a chairman from the zone of the former holder of the office “pending the conduct of election.”

    The amendment provision stipulated that the appointed caretaker or chairman should hold office “to serve the term of the (previous) officer”.

    The amendment was made by the party to validate the emergence of Adamu Muazu as the Chairman of the party following the abrupt exit of his predecessor, Bamaga Tukur in 2014 and to sustain the emergence of former President Goodluck Jonathan as the presidential candidate of the party.

    Sheriff, a former governor of Borno State, became the party’s chairman by virtue of the 2014 amendment, being from the same zone as Mu’azu.

  • Makarfi, Sheriff camps disagree on  judgment

    Makarfi, Sheriff camps disagree on  judgment

    The National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed satisfaction with yesterday’s judgment of an Abuja High Court which sacked Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as National Chairman.

    The committee advised Sheriff to retrace his steps and join hands with others to move the party forward.

    But the Sheriff camp said the court did not sack the embattled chairman and that the judgment of was being misinterpreted.

    The court, presided over by Justice Valentine Ashi, nullified the 2014 PDP constitution amendment upon which Sheriff was appointed PDP chairman.

    The court described the purported amendment as illegal and a violation of the Electoral Act.

    Secretary of the Ahmed Makarfi -led caretaker committee, Senator Ben Obi, described the judgment as a welcome development.

    “We expect more positive court rulings in the days ahead in favour of our party. It is time for them to face the truth and retrace their steps,” he said.

    He called on Sheriff and his supporters to stop their hard line posture and cooperate with the caretaker committee to move the party forward.

    “We believe that truth must be upheld; we want all hands to be on deck to chart the way forward”, Obi added.

    Repudiating the judgment, the National Secretary of the Sheriff faction, Prof. Adewale Oladipo, said in a statement yesterday: “This is completely false and a clear misrepresentation of the ruling of the court as it never gave any ruling ousting the national chairman.

    “Our attention has been drawn to reports circulating in the media that a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court has ousted the National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the court only heard and delivered judgment on a matter concerning certain amendments in the PDP constitution, which has nothing to do with the election of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the national chairman or even that of his predecessor, Alhaji Adamu Muazu.

    “Senator Ali Modu Sheriff was duly elected as the national chairman of the PDP. He still holds office as the national chairman and has not been removed by any court.

    “We therefore urge those misleading the media and the unsuspecting public to desist from such. The media is also urged to always cross-check their facts before going to press.”

  • Sheriff camp picks Cairo Ojougboh as deputy chair

    Sheriff camp picks Cairo Ojougboh as deputy chair

    Factional National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff has appointed the party’s former Vice Chairman (South-South), Dr. Cairo Ojougboh as the faction’s Deputy National Chairman.

    This is coming just as another set of “chairmen” of state chapters yesterday endorsed Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff as the party’s “authentic” National Chairman.

    Ojougboh was one of the party’s mainstream national officials that were removed at the party’s May 21 botched convention in Port Harvourt.

    Ojougboh’s letter of appointment was jointly signed by Sheriff and the faction’s National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo.

    The letter reads, “Please, be informed that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party in a meeting held on the 28th of June 2016, and having received nomination from the Concerned PDP stakeholders (Abuja Convention Group) and major stakeholders in the South-south has appointed you as the Acting Deputy National Chairman of the party pending the conduct of election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of the erstwhile Deputy National Chairman. This appointment takes immediate effect”.

    The Sheriff and Oladipo, through the letter, urged Ojougboh to discharged his functions with dedication to ensure the progress of the party.

    Only on Monday, a set of state chairmen endorsed the Chairman of the Caretaker committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi as the only recognised chair of the party.

    While the pro Makarfi state chairmen based their endorsement of Makarfi on the decision of the botched May 21 Port Harcourt convention, the pro Sheriff set hinged their position on a ruling of a Lagos High Court which restrained the party from electing a replacement for Sheriff.

    Expressing appreciation for the visit by the state chairmen, Sheriff declared that the set of state chairmen that pledged loyalty to Makarfi was not the authentic chairmen.

    According to him, the party had yet to elect chairmen in 23 of the 36 states of the federation, adding that his mission was not to destroy the party but to rebuild it.

    Sheriff expressed willingness to resign his position as chairman if the court ruled against him, saying however that he would never succumb to pressure by the party’s governors to quit.

    Among the pro Sheriff chairmen in the delegation were the ones for Ondo, Imo, Ogun, Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

    The delegation later passed a vote of confidence in Sheriff.