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Tag: Sheriff

  • 520 delegates to participate in Sheriff’s PDP primary

    520 delegates to participate in Sheriff’s PDP primary

    No fewer than 520 delegates are billed to participate in the factional Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary to be conducted by the Ali Modu Sheriff’s faction.

    Two aspirants, Hon Ehiozuwa Agbonnayima and Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, are to contest at the primary, which is scheduled to take place at the Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City, the state capital.

    Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu had earlier emerged as the candidate of the party at the primary conducted by the Ahmed Makarfi committee.

    A visit to the stadium showed that arrangements were being put in place by party officials.

    The spokesman for the Edo PDP caretaker committee, Okharedia Ihimekpen, said officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would monitor the exercise.

    He said other statutory delegates that are elected members of the party would participate in the primary.

    Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC Sam Olumekun said it was only the Party Monitoring Department of INEC that could confirm if the commission would be at the Sheriff primary or not.

  • Makarfi to police, DSS: watch Sheriff

    Makarfi to police, DSS: watch Sheriff

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Caretaker Committee, led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has asked security agents to put ‘National Chairman’ Senator Ali Modu Sheriff under watch.

    In a statement yesterday by its spokesman Dayo Adeyeye, the Makarfi group “appeals to the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Service and indeed all security agencies to call Sheriff to order as well as keep more than an eye on him, so that he doesn’t precipitate crisis in any part of the country, … since we, as Nigerians already have enough on our hands to contend with.”

    It said Sheriff lacked the power to suspend the Edo State PDP executive committee. Urging the Edo executive to ignore the purported suspension, the Makarfi group said it was part of Sheriff’s plan to create confusion, ahead of the governorship election.

    Adeyeye maintained that the National Working Committee (NWC) headed by Sheriff had ceased to exist, following the setting up of the National Caretaker Committee by the National Convention in Port-Harcourt, capital of Rivers State.

    Also yesterday, the Makarfi group said it would continue to work day and night to build followership for the party.

    “The committee still wishes to renew its call to Senator Ali Modu Sheriff to embrace dialogue leading to peaceful resolution of the situation at hand”, another statement by Adeyeye added.

    It denied that Makarfi and the Secretary of the committee, Senator  Ben Obi, held secret meetings with an unnamed chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as alleged by Sheriff last week.

    “On the other hand, as soon as the National Caretaker Committee was appointed, people started retracing their steps back to the Party.

    But former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido raised the hope that the crisis is an indication that the party is strong and that it will soon be resolved.

    Lamido told reporters in Bamaina village in Birnin Kudu Local Government, Jogawa state that the party would emerge stronger and bigger.

    According to him, it is normal for people to fight for what is existent, valuable, worthy and important.

    “PDP is a big party that has history and it is a party of conglomeration of all Nigerians across the devide.

    “This is not our first crisis, if you go down our history from the formation of the party you will notice that this is not the first time we are having crisis.

    “You can remember that the late Sunday Awoniyi had battle of leadership with former Chairman Banabas Gemade.

    “We also had crisis during Audu Ogbeh’s reign.“You don’t fight for what is not in existence.

    “PDP was in power for 16 years and the crisis and fight had always been with us,’’ he said.

    He said that both Ahmed Makarfi and Modu Sherrif are members of PDP and would remain members no matter what happened.

    Lamido said the party had the capacity to resolve its differences.

    He gave the assurance that the discord within the party would soon be over.

    The former governor stated that PDP would return to power in 2019 because it is a conglomeration of Nigerians.

     

  • Iduoriyekemwen defects to Sheriff’s camp

    Iduoriyekemwen defects to Sheriff’s camp

    An aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, has rejected the outcome of the primary, which produced Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as its candidate.

    He also pledged his loyalty to the Ali Modu Sheriff leadership of the party, adding that he would participate in the primary election of the group scheduled for June 28.?

    The former Majority Leader in the House of Assembly, who spoke in Benin, the state capital, described the primary as a “comedy,” which was “clinically manipulated” to favour a preferred candidate of the state leadership of the party.

    He said: “Having looked at all the processes, starting from the clinical manipulation and rigging of the primary, I hereby fully dissociate myself from every process that led to that so-called primary which ended on June 20.

    “Myself and members of my team across the state reject the outcome and we pledge our loyalty to the authentic leadership of the party headed by His Excellency, Ali Modu Sheriff. They have drawn up the programme for the PDP primary and I hereby declare that myself and my team are participating in that primary.

    “Myself and members of my campaign team have met. We have tried to review all that transpired and we have come up? with the fact that what transpired that day could best be termed a comedy, in the sense that the processes that led to the event of that day were clinically planned and orchestrated like the party had indeed endorsed a candidate.”

  • Sheriff, please go!

    SIR: For everything under the planet, there is time, says the holy book –  Time to be appointed and time to be disappointed, time to be accepted and time to be rejected, time for birth and time for death. For Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, former governor, senator and chairman, People’s Democratic Party, it is both a time to be disappointed, rejected and dejected by the political party that once treasured and prized him.  It is time to go and go for good.

    Sheriff was shown adoration beyond measures. He was toasted like a birthday wine. And then crisped like a wedding cake. He was celebrated like the messiah the PDP had long longed for. The fanfare trailing his appointment by his party was to say the least ‘unequal’. Then they built a hedge and shielded Sheriff from the opprobrium and skirmishes accompanying his elevation as chairman of the PDP by the Nigerian people.  Indeed, ‘the lure of office seems stronger than the love of once self.’

    Nigeria is a theater of sorts.  Ours is a clime where public opinion is treated with levity and outright annihilation. We are in a geographical entity where the voice of the people is relegated and greeted with open discontentment by the leaders.  In our world, where democracy is touted and flouted every now and then, the saner minds only discern here to mean ‘an enclave where a few caucus determine what we like and accept.’  Otherwise, how can a party, with its cardinal objective of winning Nigerians to its side treat same people and their opinion with disdain?

    Everybody else but the PDP shouted themselves hoarse as to why Sheriff, a PDP new entrant should be crowned the party Supremo. Nigerians in their numbers foresaw and foretold this imbroglio but the PDP refuted and defied every anti-Sheriff claims and appointed him chairman. This singular decision has therefore, launched the PDP as the architect of its own contemporary leadership woes. They shot themselves in the foot when they were supposed to be uniting against the ruling party to ensure proper checks and virile opposition-role in our governance.

    But all things being equal, having alienated and isolated Sheriff from his party affairs following his ouster, having lost the grip of his party’s NEC, BOT and what have you, Sherif should understand one thing – the power of a party chairman is not vested in a building like ‘Wadata Plaza’. Sheriff should understand that even though he moves his personal belongings to the party house, this will only amount to a mere façade and can never give him-back what he had lost.

    He should rather take solace in the fact that the same people who cajoled and persuaded him to accept the party’s plum job are the same egg-heads spearheading his removal. Sheriff should as a matter of discretion, know where his choice as a chairman went berserk and then, please let go.

    The PDP too must have learnt from its mistakes. They must have learnt the risk of ignoring public opinion. They must have realized how costly and dearly they were made to pay for simply ignoring a joint opinion as expressed and demonstrated by the Nigerian people. They must have drawn a lesson from the long standing adage that “it is not giving a monkey water with a cup that is the problem, but retrieving the cup from the monkey after it must have finished drinking”.

     

    • Gwiyi Solomon,

    Abuja.

  • PDP crisis: Sheriff sacks Edo PDP, names caretakers

    PDP crisis: Sheriff sacks Edo PDP, names caretakers

    •Ignore him, Makarfi faction tells party chiefs

    Last week’s election of Pastor OsagieIze-Iyamu as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the September election in Edo State has set the Ali Modu Sheriff and Ahmed Makarfi’s factions of the party on a fresh collision course.

    Senator Ali Modu Sheriff who, until recently was the PDP acting national chairman, yesterday suspended the state executive committee of the party “sequel to various petitions deriving from allegations of irregularities arising from the last state congresses that sought to elect State Executive Committee for the chapter.”

    He had earlier nullified the Plateau State congress of the party and promised to set machinery in motion for the emergence of a fresh executive committee for the state PDP.

    Sheriff and the National Secretary of the PDP, Prof. Wale Oladipo, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, said the suspension of the Edo PDP exco was part of the decision taken at the NWC meeting of June 21, 2016.

    They said the suspension would enable the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party investigate the allegations contained in the petitions and come out with a fair and just decision.

    Sheriff proceeded to appoint an eight-member caretaker committee to run the affairs of the state chapter for a period of three months.

    The members are: Chief Ebenezer Alabi (chairman); Barr. Zealiwe Edmund (secretary); EhimekpenOkharedia, Mrs. Melody EkunneOsagie, Blessing Agbabaku, Negerese Berry, Hon Daniel OhioleAsekhame and Mr.DanOmozokpai as members.

    The Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee, in a swift reaction, asked the Edo state chapter of the party to ignore the suspension order.

    It said: “Procedures for taking such far reaching decisions are prescribed in the constitution of the party, so it’s the organ so empowered to take it.

    “It is no longer news that the Ali Modu Sheriff led National Working Committee and indeed all national officers were removed by the party’s convention, which is the highest decision making organ of the party,” it added in a statement by spokesman for the committee, Prince AdedayoAdeyeye.

    Continuing, he said: “This purported suspension is clearly part of the desperation of Senator Sheriff and his paymasters to orchestrate confusion that would lead to the failure of the party in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Edo State; an election that the party is otherwise very well placed to win.

    “The Caretaker Committee recognises and would continue to relate with the leadership of the party in Edo State that was validly elected at the recent congresses, even as it calls on the members and teeming supporters of the party in the state to remain steadfast and vigilant in the face of the mischief being perpetrated by Sheriff in order to destroy the party.

    “The Caretaker Committee also appeals to the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Services and indeed all security agencies to call Sheriff to order as well as keep more than an eye on him so that he doesn’t precipitate crisis in any part of the country for which he is well known, since we, as Nigerians already have enough on our hands to contend with.”

    Also reacting to the purported suspension, the chairman of the Edo PDP, Chief Dan Orbih said Sheriff lacked powers to suspend any state chapter.

    He said: “For us in Edo State PDP, we will ignore the ranting of Sheriff and face the business of defeating Adams Oshiomhole and his surrogate, that is, their APC candidate.”

    Orbih said Sheriff’s action was a clear indication that he is not a true member of the PDP.

    He added: “Let me quickly remind Sheriff that we, members of the National Executive, were the ones that appointed him as an acting chairman.

    “He was never elected as chairman of the party and he should atop arrogating powers that he doesn’t possess to himself.

    “The only body that is constitutionally empowered by the party to carry out the functions of the national executives of the party today is that of the Makarfi-led national executive, which by law is the national executives in place.

    “At the time we appointed Sheriff to act as the national chairman, we gave him a mandate that should last for three months and at the end of the three months, we never renewed his mandate.

    “I advise him to stay clear of Edo PDP and face his political integration in Borno where since he left office as governor has been a hotbed of political crisis.”

    In nullifying the Plateau PDP congress earlier, Sheriff also dismissed claim by the Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee that he was working for the APC.

    He said: “Makarfi should shut up” and threatened to expose the committee chairman and Ben Obi, its national secretary.

    At the meeting with the Plateau delegation, which pledged support for him, the factional leader of the opposition party said he would soon inaugurate a committee to organise a fresh congress in the state.

    Sheriff alleged that Makarfi and Obi had been paying secret visits to an APC chieftain.

    He challenged them to dare him and see how he would expose them.

    “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,” he said.

    “Makarfi and Obi have gone to visit one 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.

    “If Makarfi continues to attack my person, I will be forced to reveal further details of their alliance. So, Makarfi should just shut up.”

  • Sheriff, Makarfi fail to end feud

    Sheriff, Makarfi fail to end feud

    There appears to be no peace in sight for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with its two factions sticking to their guns.

    “National Chairman” Ali Modu Sheriff and disputed Caretaker Chairman Ahmed Makarfi have refused to name their teams for peace talks.

    Based on the collapse of the peace move, the National Secretariat of PDP has remained shut by the police.

    It was learnt that the factions have not agreed on the agenda for the proposed negotiation.

    Although the two leaders have been slated to meet since Monday, each of them has been shifting the goal post because of “irreconcilable differences.”

    It was yesterday gathered that the reconciliation is being delayed by:

    • withdrawal of all cases in court by Sheriff and his associates/ loyalists;
    • Sheriff’s demand to remain in charge of the party even if he has to step aside later;
    • Disagreement over the involvement of the PDP Governors Forum and the Board of Trustees in the reconciliation; and
    • The shape of the Unity National Working Committee (NWC) being envisaged.

    As part of the initial agreement, Sheriff and Makarfi were expected to name four representatives for the peace talks.

    A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The two factions have not been able to meet since Monday because they have not agreed on the agenda. Neither of them has named its representatives for the reconciliation talks.

    “For instance, Sheriff is adamant on going through all the gamut of the legal process because he feels the law is on his side as far as this crisis is concerned.

    “So, he wants to negotiate from a position of strength as the National Chairman of the party. He wants to remain in charge of the party until otherwise decided by the party leaders.

    “He sees the Makarfi committee as a dissident group. This was why Sheriff nullified Monday’s PDP governorship primaries in Edo State.

    “Banking on the mandate of the National Convention, the Makarfi group has kept to its status as the authentic leadership of the party. It believes that other than political exigency, Sheriff has no locus to sit at the negotiation table with the caretaker committee.

    “The Caretaker Committee is of the opinion that the outcome of all suits will favour its mandate. It has been accusing Sheriff ‘s camp of misinterpreting some pronouncements of the court to cling to power.”

    Another source said the two factions disagreed on the involvement of the PDP Governors Forum and the Board of Trustees in the reconciliation.

    The source said: “Left to Sheriff, he does not want the involvement of the Board of Trustees because its members have taken sides with Makarfi’s Caretaker Committee. The same thing applies to some governors who have openly condemned him.

    “He believes that his purported sack at the National Convention was hatched by some governors and BoT members. And he was shocked that the BoT leadership handed over to Makarfi’s Caretaker Committee at the National Secretariat.

    “There is distrust between the two factions and it has become impossible for the reconciliation talks to take off. Therefore, the negotiation appears dead on arrival.”

    A member of the BoT, who spoke in confidence, said: “As it is now, only a definite pronouncement by the court will help the party to get over the crisis and reconcile. We hope the court will grant all cases accelerated hearing.

    “In the alternative, some leaders of PDP have been reaching out to Sheriff’s main backer, Sen. Buruji Kashamu, to prevail on his candidate to give room for reconciliation.

    “If Buruji can be of help, the two factions should be able to go to the negotiation table by next week.”

    A police source said: “We are awaiting the outcome of the reconciliation meeting by the two groups based on the pledge they made to the immediate past Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase.

    “The National Secretariat of PDP remains under lock and key at the instance of the two factions in order to prevent a breakdown of law and order.”

  • Sheriff: Fayose’s conduct shameful

    Sheriff: Fayose’s conduct shameful

    Embattled Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) “National Chairman” Ali Modu Sheriff has described the public conduct of Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose as shameful.

    Sheriff was reacting to Fayose’s comment that he was removed as chairman because he was scheming for the 2019 presidential ticket of the PDP and was also baiting some party chieftains with the vice presidential ticket.

    At a media briefing in Abuja yesterday, Sheriff said: “I am ashamed at the way and manner Fayose is conducting himself in the country. I was once a governor; so, I know that the position of governor is a very serious one that demands responsible behaviour”.

    He denied scheming for the party’s presidential ticket, saying: “I never told anybody I wanted to run for president and I did not promise anybody the vice presidential ticket. I have decided not to join issues with Fayose.”

    To buttress his claim to the chairmanship of the party, Sheriff said the National Working Committee (NWC) under him is in charge of the bank accounts of the PDP,  not the Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee.

    “Myself and the Treasurer who is also a member of the NWC are signatories to the bank accounts of the PDP. Makarfi may also open another account in the name of his caretaker committee if he wished,” Sheriff said.

    The former Borno State governor said he had forgiven Makarfi and his committee members for what he called their failed attempt to take over the party and invited them to rejoin the PDP under his leadership.

    Said he: “There is only one PDP, which is the one under my leadership. Anyone who thinks that the Makarfi, contraption can work is deceiving himself. I am the only chairman of the PDP recognised by the courts, the constitution and the Electoral Act.

    “I became chairman because the PDP chose me to lead the party. So, I won’t sit by and watch some people mess up the party. I am here to correct what had gone wrong with state congresses conducted by the party.”

    Sheriff inaugurated a committee to conduct a primary to pick a candidate for the party in the upcoming Edo governorship election. The PDP has hold a primary which Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu won.

    Sheriff named Senator Hope Uzodinma as chairman of the committee and a former presidential aide, Ahmed Gulak, as secretary.

    According to him, three aspirants have obtained nomination forms at N10 million each. The money had been deposited in the party’s bank account.

    Sheriff announced that he would soon convene the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to ratify the candidature of the winner of the Edo primary election to be conducted by the Uzodinma committee.

    “After that, we will forward the name of our governorship candidate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the July 10 deadline set by the commission for the submission of candidates,” he said.

    He declared as “null and void” the primary election conducted by the Makarfi committee, and which produced Pastor Ize-Iyamu as the governorship candidate of the party for Edo State.”

    Sheriff dismissed as false, claims by the Makarfi committee that INEC monitored the primary election it conducted, saying the commission had debunked the claim.

    With Sheriff were Uzodinma, Gulak, Senator Buruji Kashamu and Mrs. Mariam Ali.

    Others are former Imo State Governor Ikedi Ohakim; former PDP Vice Chairman (Southsouth) Dr. Cairo Ojougboh; PDP Southwest Zonal Chairman Makanjuola Ogundipe; a former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Kasim Gbolarunmi; Senator Saidu Kumo; Mrs. Esther Audu.

    Also at the event were Prof. Wale Oladipo and Fatai Adeyanju, who are still laying claim to National Secretary and National Auditor.

  • Sheriff declares Edo PDP governorship nominations illegal

    Sheriff declares Edo PDP governorship nominations illegal

    The embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Ali modu Sheriff, has said the party’s governorship primary in Edo State is illegal.

    Sheriff voided the primary, which was held on Monday by the Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee, saying it was a contraption by an “illegal” caretaker committee.

    The former Borno State governor urged party members to disregard the primary.

    A letter on the primary by Sheriff and PDP National Secretary, Prof Wale Oladipo, was addressed to the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The duo urged INEC to avoid legitimising the Edo primary, saying the party would conduct a proper primary to nominate a candidate.

    Sheriff released a scheduled congress in the state to between June 23 and 29 with the inauguration of a congress committee scheduled for Thursday.

    The embattled chairman warned the party’s state chapter chairmen and other officers to desist from holding meetings with the Makarfi committee.

     

    He added that such actions would attract sanctions.

     

  • Sheriff’s camp urges political solution to PDP crisis

    Sheriff’s camp urges political solution to PDP crisis

    The camp of the embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, has called for a political solution to the party’s leadership crisis.

    The stand-off between Sheriff and the chairman of the party’s Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has polarised the ranks of stakeholders, as both camps have continued to lay claim to the leadership.

    Making the call at the weekend, the immediate past National Vice Chairman (South-South) of the PDP, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, urged the Board of Trustees (BoT) to immediately facilitate a meeting between the warring factions.

    According to him,  the crisis requires a political solution, and the cases instituted by both camps, if allowed to go on, would hamper the chances of the party in the forth coming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states.

    Ojougboh warned that if the BoT failed to save the situation, it could degenerate into an intractable situation capable of preventing the party from fielding candidates in future elections.

    The party chieftain dismissed claims by the Makarfi camp that Sheriff was hired by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to destroy the PDP, arguing that if the APC was sponsoring the embattled chairman, the police and the Department of State Service (DSS) would have taken sides with Sheriff.

    Said he, “The police invited both Makarfi and Sheriff  and tried to settle their differences. That is how the BoT should also behave. We are urging our leaders to be dispassionate in this matter.

    “The answer is not too difficult to proffer.  There is a court judgement by an Abuja High Court delivered by Justice Mohammed. In that judgement, it is stated clearly that the tenure of Sheriff ends in 2018, because Sheriff was elected by NEC to complete the tenure of Adamu Mu’azu.

    “A letter also written by INEC to PDP suspended the convention, saying that there should be no election into the offices of Chairman, National Secretary and Auditor. With all these put together, if you look at it legally and from the rule of law, you will see that Sheriff has a judgement and the law on his side.

    “Now, one begins to wonder. One of the emperors in the party, somebody like Mr. Nyesom Wike, is governor today by virtue of the courts and the rule of law.

    “Wilke lost at the court of first instance. He lost at another court in the second instance and won at the Supreme Court. But no one has come to tell Wike to allow for the political process to play, or to step down from being governor of Rivers”.

    Dr. Ojougboh noted that no one had appealed the judgement delivered in favour of Sheriff, adding that the embattled chairman has a good case.

  • PDP crisis: Sheriff, Makarfi meet tomorrow as governors split

    PDP crisis: Sheriff, Makarfi meet tomorrow as governors split

    •INEC relates with only most senior director in PDP, awaits court’s decision
    •BOT may lose out

    Battle weary Interim Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator Ahmed Makarfi  and the former acting national chairman, Sen. Modu Ali Sheriff,  appear to be ready for truce.

    The duo whose fierce claims to the leadership of the party has sharply divided members down the line and forced the police to shut down the party’s secretariat for one week in the first instance, are scheduled to meet tomorrow for talks on resolving  the crisis.

    Police Inspector General Solomon Arase met with them in Abuja on Friday and told them to end their differences within one week.

    He deployed his men to seal off the party’s secretariat for the period.

    A highly-placed source said yesterday that the two factions agreed to meet tomorrow for reconciliation and harmonisation.

    The source said: “Following a session with the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase and the Director-General of the Department of State Security Service, Mallam Lawal Daura, we have opened up preliminary talks in which we agreed to meet on Monday.

    “Neither Sheriff’s camp nor Makarfi’s group has named those who will represent the warring factions on Monday. We will send our list of representatives to the negotiation on or before Monday. Each group is still consulting on who should be part of its team.

    “But in view of the bias of the leadership of the Board of Trustees, we don’t want them to play any role in brokering peace.”

    Of the party’s 12 state governors, only two – Darius Ishaku (Taraba) and Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe) have openly identified with Sheriff, who is from their North-East zone.

    Although 10 others are said to be “tactically” with Makarfi, two or three have allegedly pledged loyalty to Sheriff through subterranean channels.

    Another party source said: “Governors Ishaku and Dankwambo have identified with Sheriff amidst pursuance of peace in the party. But the other 10 governors have been romancing Makarfi. A few of them however pay nocturnal allegiance to Sheriff. This is the type of politicking which is complicating the crisis in the party.”

    Some of the governors allegedly against the candidature of Sheriff include Nyesom Wike (Rivers) and Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti).

    Senator Kashamu Buruji, who is one of the backers of Sheriff, has condemned Fayose’s role in the crisis in a letter to the BOT of PDP.

    He said: “Some party leaders have all along been acting as a law unto themselves and carrying on with impunity irrespective of whether their actions are in the interest of the Party. Such actions, if not checked, could further stigmatize the Party as a lawless organization.

    “It was Governor Fayose who came to me and said we should work for Senator Sheriff. He said I should start a heavy campaign because the governors had decided that he was the only one that could save the party.

    “Yet, it was the same Governor Fayose that tricked his colleagues and hijacked the National Convention for his personal interests even in the face of obvious illegalities.”

    Another party source said: “Governors Ishaku and Dankwambo have identified with Sheriff amidst pursuance of peace in the party.”

    Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has distanced itself from the two factions in PDP to avoid being accused of bias.

    A top official of INEC said the commission has been relating with the most senior director at the PDP National Secretariat on correspondence and party matters.

    He said the neutrality will remain until there is a definite decision by the court on the crisis in PDP.

    “We took a decision not to deal with either Sheriff or Makarfi. We do not want to be dragged into politics.

    “But on correspondence and any issue on political parties, we relate with the most senior director in PDP who will communicate all the groups.

    “We are awaiting a definite pronouncement by the court on the challenge in PDP. If the court says we should go with A, we will go with A. If the court orders us to relate with B, we will comply.”