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PDP to retain Sheriff as party chair

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has retained the party’s chairmanship position in the Northeast geopolitical zone for the next four years.

The decision may have paved the way for the incumbent National Chairman, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, to retain the position.

He will be testing his popularity at the party’s national convention billed to hold in Port Harcourt on May 21.

The decision was the outcome of the party’s zoning committee headed by Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel and was adopted at yesterday’s party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

Other party offices were zoned to the various geopolitical zones as follows: Deputy chairman (Southsouth); National Secretary (Southwest); National Legal Adviser (Northwest); National Treasurer (Southsouth); and National Financial Secretary (Northcentral).

Others are: National Woman Leader (Northwest); National Auditor (Southwest); National Publicity Secretary (Southwest); National Organising Secretary (Southeast); and National Youth Leader (Southeast) among others.

The party will be holding another NEC meeting on May 11, to ratify amendments to its constitution.

Attendance was the lowest in the history of the party’s NEC meeting, with just about a quarter of the members in attendance.

A meeting of the Board of Trustees (BoT) that was supposed to hold shortly before the NEC meeting failed to hold.

Chairman of the BoT, Senator Walid Jibrin, who attended the meeting, said his members were not invited to the NEC meeting.

Similarly, the various caucuses also failed to meet ahead of the NEC meeting, even as a majority of the members stayed away.

The party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff said the NEC meeting was an emergency one.

According to him, the chairman of the zoning committee only informed him the previous night that his committee’s report was ready.

The meeting, which was preside over by Sheriff, also had in attendance former President of the Senate David Mark, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, a few PDP governors, members of the National Working Committee (NWC) and some members of the National Assembly.

April 29, 2016
PDP chair: Sheriff intensifies lobby as Southwest group threatens defection

Overwhelmed by opposition to his candidacy, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, yesterday met with the former Chairman of Northern Governors Forum, ex-Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu.

He urged Aliyu to prevail on some party leaders to take it easy on the opposition to his candidacy.

The embattled PDP leader was shocked that the opposition against his return to office is more pronounced in the North.

Sheriff arrived at Aliyu’s Mandara Close, Aso Drive Abuja home at about 6.01pm and left before 7pm.

He came in the company of a senator and three associates and thereafter entered into the inner recess of the mansion for a meeting with the ex-governor.

A top source, who was privy to the meeting, said: “Sheriff actually came to solicit for support from Aliyu and his group for his return as the PDP leader.

“He assured the former governor that he is seeking the mandate to reorganise the PDP before the next election in order to defeat the All Progressives Congress(APC).

“Sheriff is no doubt under pressure because of the gang-up against his desire to return to office on May 21. Most leaders of PDP from the North cannot understand why Sheriff will want to be National Chairman at a time the zone is seeking the party’s 2019 presidential ticket.

“They see his ambition to lead the party as a spoiler’s game which will not help the North.”

A member of the National Working Committee (NWC) said: “The fear of Sheriff’s candidacy is about his alleged presidential aspiration. Some PDP leaders are suspecting that Sheriff might transmute from party leadership to presidential candidacy.

“Others see his desire to retain his seat beyond May 21 as a gross violation of the PDP zoning formula. If Bamanga Tukur and Adamu Muazu from the Northeast have led PDP in the last three to four years, what is the rationale in giving the slot to another candidate from the Northeast?

“Going by our zoning policy, it is the turn of the South to produce the next national chairman of PDP. If Sheriff re-emerges, it might lead to the disintegration of PDP because many leaders will leave the party.”

Also yesterday, former presidential spokesman Dr. Doyin Okupe, said the zoning of the PDP national chairman position to the North is injurious to the interest of the Southwest.

He said the party has ignored the virtues of justice and equity, warning that the marginalisation of the zone might herald mass defection.

Okupe reflected on the zoning controversy, chiding some Southwest chieftains, who he described as charlatans, for collaborating with top party leaders to relegate the zone to the background.

In a statement titled: “PDP and the burden of justice and equity”, the former presidential aide alleged that the seed of misrepresentation was sowed by a group of political clowns and court jesters.”

He noted that the Southwest PDP elders, led by the former National Deputy Chairman Chief Olabode George, have condemned the “traitors” during their recent summit in Lagos.

He said the Southwest PDP has the intention of bidding for the position during the national convention.

Okupe said: “ I want to state categorically, without any fear of equivocation, that we, the Yoruba from the Southwest, desire and demand the post of the national chairman at the next convention of the party.

“The following are the past chairmen: Chief Solomon Lar, Chief Gemade, Audu ogbe, prince Ogbolafor, Dr Nwodo, Alhadji Baraje, dr Haliru Bello(Acting), Alhaji Bamangar Tukur, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, Prince Secondus(Acting),and Sen Sheriff.

“In the last 18 years, there have been 11 chairmen from five geo-political zones. Only the Yoruba from the Southwest have been precluded from this exalted office.

“In the interest of fairness, equity and justice, it is most compelling that the Yoruba of the Southwest zone must be allowed to contest for this post at this coming National convention.”

Okupe warned that any attempt to deny the Southwest the position could spell doom.

He said: “Any attempt to do anything to the contrary, no matter the reason advanced cannot be acceptable. Failure for a Yoruba man to emerge as the national chairman can only mean two things: that there is a pervasive and concealed hatred for the Southwest in the PDP, or the PDP has very little or no regard for Yoruba interest as shown by the obvious cheating of the Southwest from the position of the House of Representatives Speaker in 2011, which was neither rectified nor compensated for the whole of four years.”

Okupe added: “The sad implication of the above is that, regrettably, many of us from the southwest may have to reconsider our membership of this great party we have helped to nurture and supported through thick and thing, a party we have loved almost more than our very existence, and the party we have served with all our natural endowment, in victory and defeat.”

April 25, 2016
Anxiety in Oyo PDP over delay in Sheriff’s visit

Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State are anxious, following the non-apperance of the National Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff, in Ibadan, the state capital, to “seal the merger plans between the party and Accord”.

The PDP chairman was unable to attend the planned meeting with Accord leadership because he was reportedly held down in Uyo, the Akwa-Ibom State capital.

It was learnt that the meeting in Uyo was heated and Sheriff could not leave without first resolving the issues satisfactorily.

The PDP chairman was slated to meet with Senator Rashidi Ladoja and other Accord leaders to seal merger plans between the two parties. They were to meet at Ladoja’s Bodija, Ibadan home yesterday.

But a source said Sheriff would visit Ladoja today or tomorrow.

The source said the two parties were still awaiting the confirmation of the new date from the PDP chairman.

The delay has, however, caused anxiety among PDP members due to the limited time left for ward, local government and state congresses to hold in preparation for the national convention slated for May 21.

It was learnt that ward congresses are slated for next week. The implication is that if the PDP chairman fails to come and seal the merger plans, Accord members, who are in large number, may be shut out of the process, thereby foreclosing the planned merger.

A top leader of the party said the Oyo State chapter might have to excuse itself from the congress pending the conclusion of the merger plans.

“Our house is more important to us now. We need to first put our house in order before anything else. It is important.

“So, if these rebuilding efforts are not concluded before the national convention, we may have to ask for permission to opt out until we are able to conclude our efforts.” the source said.

But the Publicity Secretary, Kehinde Salawu, believes that the remaining one week is enough to perfect the merger plans in as much as both parties will agree on who takes what without necessarily going through the long process of an actual primary.

April 18, 2016
Sheriff visits Ladoja to seal Oyo PDP/Accord merger

The proposed merger of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Accord Party would be the main thrust of discussion during a meeting between the National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and ex-governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja slated for Ibadan, the state capital today, The Nation has learnt.

Ladoja is the leader of Accord in Oyo State and was the governorship candidate of the party in the 2011 and 2015 elections.

Sheriff is leading the PDP team to formally open talks with Ladoja and his key political associates over the possibility of returning to the PDP ahead of the party’s May 21 national convention.

A source disclosed that Sheriff’s visit followed the success of previous discussions with Ladoja and his team by leaders of Oyo PDP over the possibility of working together under the platform of PDP.

The state PDP leaders had held several meetings with the former governor and his key followers over the merger of the two parties in Oyo State in preparation for the 2019 elections.

A former military governor of Lagos State, Gen. Raji Rasaki (rtd) led a team of PDP leaders to Ladoja on Friday to inform him that Sheriff would visit them today to seal talks of the merger.

Sheriff and Ladoja are expected to come up with terms of engagement by the two parties in Oyo State as they approach future elections.

April 17, 2016
Sheriff to APC: stop blaming PDP for Nigeria’s woes

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff has urged the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government to stop blaming the PDP for the socio-economic problems confronting the nation.

President Muhammadu Buhari had, during the week, blamed the 16-year misrule of the PDP for the nation’s vanishing economy. He said the party squandered the nation’s oil wealth during its reign.

But while inaugurating the convention committees of the PDP in Abuja yesterday, Sheriff urged President Buhari and the APC to stop the blame game and face the challenges of governance.

“I advise leaders of the APC to stop blaming the PDP for their problems. We want to tell Nigerians that we can do better,” the PDP chair said.

Sheriff accused some unnamed APC governors of plotting to rig the PDP out of the Federal Capital Territory council elections holding on Saturday.

He challenged the APC governors to make good their plot, vowing that the PDP was ready to match them governor for governor.

“If anybody believes they can rig the PDP out of the election, they are in for a shocker. If you bring your governors, we will bring our own. If you bring your former governors, we will bring our former governors.

“The APC should be guided; they should respect the wish of the people for one man, one vote. The PDP is not for violence, but we will defend our votes,” Sheriff said.

The party chairman urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to live up to its responsibilities.

“The election must be conclusive. There should be no inconclusive elections again,” Sheriff stated.

The commission had recorded a string of inconclusive elections in some states in the last few weeks.

The four committees inaugurated included those of Convention, Finance, Reconciliation and Zoning.

Governor Nyesom Wike (Rivers) heads Convention Committee and Governor Ibrahim Dankwabo (Gombe) takes charge of the Finance Committee.

Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel is chairing the Zoning Committee and Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson heads the Reconciliation Committee.

April 6, 2016
Leadership crisis: PDP Rescue Group warns Sheriff on convention

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Rescue Group has warned the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff against shifting the date for the party’s national convention tentatively fixed for May 21.

Rising from a meeting in Abuja on Friday, the group expressed surprise at the state of unpreparedness of the party for the convention.

A statement issued after the meeting warned of the dire consequences of failure to hold the convention as scheduled.

“This apparent foot-dragging has many incalculable damages on our efforts to re-position the PDP as an effective opposition party,” the group stated.The statement was jointly signed by Ambassador Wilberforce Juta and Alhaji Mukhtar Shagari, chairman and secretary of the Rescue Group respectively.

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP had in February directed Sheriff to put in place a timetable for the state congresses and national convention to elect new leaders for the party.

“The PDP Rescue Group observes that the decision of the NEC is yet to be implemented barely few weeks to the takeoff of the congresses.

“The failure of the National Chairman, Sen. All Modu Sheriff, in establishing the four committees as directed by the NEC has prompted the PDP Rescue Group to live up to its responsibility to salvage the situation by guiding it back on track”, the statement added.

Apparently miffed by the alleged tenure elongation bid by the party chair, the group threw its weight behind the calls for the position of the next chairman to be zoned to the South-West geo-political zone.

The statement continued: “The National Executive Committee (NEE) of the PDP adopted the Ekweremadu Committee’s recommendation to zone the 2019 Presidential ticket to the North.

“This is suggestive that the chairmanship of the party moves to the south in line with the zoning rotation tradition of the party.

“We wish to make it categorically clear that the PDP Rescue Group is in full support of this and other resolutions.

“It was also resolved that the tenure of the current National working Committee (NWC) would end on the day of the National Convention on the 21st of May, 2016, with the election of new officers to run the affairs of the party for the next four years.

“We strongly advise that the four committees approved by NEC be instituted immediately for free, fair and credible congresses and convention to be achieved.

“Party faithful across the country view any attempt to stall the proper implementation of the NEC decisions as an act of sabotage aimed at destroying the party.

“The PDP Rescue Group wishes to commend the courage of the Board of Trustees (BOT) for standing firm on grounds of principles and upholding the decisions of the 69th NEC meeting.

“In the same vein, we call on all organs of the party to live up to their responsibilities by ensuring total adherence to the NEC resolutions and their responsibilities by ensuring total adherence to NEC resolutions and their enforcement.”

April 2, 2016
Southwest PDP in quandary over Sheriff

Ahead of the national convention scheduled for May 21, the Southwest Peoples Democratic (PDP) is divided over the tenure elongation being canvassed for the National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff, by the zonal party leadership. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the implications of the proposal on the party’s cohesion in the zone.

The proposal by the Southwest leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to cede the position of the national chairman to the north is generating ripples in the zone.

When the National Vice Chairman, Southwest, Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe, led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu- Sheriff, he said the North should retain the position, ahead of the convention. He argued that, if the position comes to the South, it will resort in branding the PDP as a regional party.

Those opposed to the proposal said it contradicted the party’s position to zone the presidency to the north in 2019. Based on this, they argued that the Southwest should produce the next national chairman, a position, it has not held since the PDP was founded in 1998.

Analysts are of the view that the proposal was an orchestrated plot by some PDP governors to accommodate Sheriff in the forthcoming convention or seek tenure extension for him. To other observers, it is curious that the call came barely hours after Sheriff returned from the region and wondered whether the move is a tacit campaign for Sheriff.

A PDP chieftain, who spoke in confidence, said the Ogundipe leadership has plunged the Southwest PDP into an avoidable crisis at a time the party is factionalised in the zone.

He said: “I don’t know why our leaders would go to Abuja to tell the national chairman that the Southwest zone has agreed that the north should retain party chairmanship when such a sensitive matter has not been exhaustively discussed by the stakeholders let alone taking decision. The Ogundipe leadership has compromised the Southwest interest and the zoning arrangement on the sharing of party’s position.

“Ogundipe and his co-travellers are acting a script prepared by the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose towards achieving his political ambition in 2019. Fayose is eying the office of Vice President. His calculation is that if the Southwest produced the party’s national chairman, it will be impossible for him to emerge as the vice presidential candidate because the party will not zone the two key positions to the zone at a time.

The source added: “You can see that the Southwest PDP leaders are after the personal interest of an individual and not the larger interest. I am not surprised Ogundipe is promoting Fayose’s political ambition ahead of 2019 because he came to office by the grace of the governor. Remember, Ogundipe’s predecessor, Ishola Filani, was removed from office through the combined efforts of Fayose and Senator Buruji Kashamu. So, you can see why the Ogundipe leadership would go to any length to compromise the interest of Southwest zone because of Fayose.

“Another factor to be considered in this episode is the role Kashamu played in the victory of Fayose in the last governorship election in Ekiti State. Kashamu was one of the major financiers of Fayose’s campaigns. It was not surprising that the so called delegation led by Ogundipe told Sheriff to recognise Kashamu as leader of the party in the Southwest”.

But, the former PDP Vice Chairman (Southwest) Chief Ishola Filani, said retaining the chairmanship in the North will augur well for the party. According to him, there is no co-ordinating leadership for the PDP in the north.

Filani said the party’s position in the region is precarious with only two states. “We need the north to come back to the PDP. We have to let them know they are wanted in the PDP. To that effect we should concede the party chairmanship to the north for now. Whosoever emerges becomes the rallying point for the north. It will encourage them that they are still part of the party.

“Another reason why the PDP should retain chairmanship in the north is that the party should not be seen as a southern party. In the South, we can take care of ourselves. In the Southwest, we have two governors; the South-South, five governors and the South East, three governors. In the South, we are sophisticated enough to embrace and appreciate what the PDP stands for.

“We lost the 2015 presidential election because we didn’t pick our candidate from the North. In 2019, we should pick our presidential candidate from the north, by then the party’s chairmanship will return to the South. With that everybody will have a sense of belonging.

“The doctrine of necessity makes it apparent for us to pick our Chairman from the north for the survival of the party. It is an interim arrangement so that the north does not lie fallow. I am happy our leaders are now embracing the position I canvassed three or four months ago”.

A member of the delegation who does not want his name in print, said: “we unanimously endorsed Senator Buruji Kashamu, as leader of the party in the zone. We chorused the recognition of Kashamu, as leader of the party in the Southwest. The leader of the delegation, Ogundipe while speaking on our behalf poured encomiums on Kashamu.”

He said the original purpose of the meeting was just to express solidarity to Sheriff but not to jettison the legitimate demand of the zone. It was in the process of the meeting that some people started pushing the idea that Senator Sheriff should continue in office as National Chairman while Kashamu should be adopted as the Southwest leader of the party.

The source said contrary to the allegation that Kashamu was the one that sponsored the idea, it was not true. “In all honesty, he was not comfortable with the development but there was nothing he could do in that situation,” said the source.

Ogundipe was reported to have said about Kashamu: “There will be no Southwest PDP .without this man, even though we have two governors. Without Buruji in the Southwest, there is no PDP in Southwest. Hold him tight, he will assist you”.

Reacting to the development, Chairman, Lagos State PDP, Captain Tunji Shelle (rtd), dismissed the proposal. “Ogundipe can’t speak for me; he can’t speak for Lagos State and the Southwest in general”.

Shelle was surprised that Ogundipe told the national chairman that the proposal was endorsed by the Southwest. “But, I find it strange that the delegation claimed that after consultation with the major stakeholders in the zone, it was decided that the North should hold on to the office of the chairman. It is not true, he said.

Shelle added: “The party has set up a committee to zone the party offices. It is the committee that would decide which offices go to what zone. No zone can decide on what positions it would get. Ogundipe can’t decide for the party.”

The Chairman of Lagos Collectives of the PDP, Prof. Tejumade Akitoye-Rhodes, said it is a monumental shame for a few decrepit characters to claim that the Southwest was not interested in the office. He described the development as illogical and patently absurd. He said such a demand does not in any way represent the position or the will of the Yoruba people in the PDP.

According to Prof. Akitoye-Rhodes, the Southwest is the only region that has not occupied the prime office of the National Chairman of our great party since PDP came into being in 1998. He added that the region would fight with all legitimate tools to ensure that justice was duly served in this crucial matter. He said the zone still parades eminent personalities and powerful evocative names like Chief Olabode George, Alhaji Yekeen Adeojo, Chief Shuaib Oyedokun, Chief Abiola Ogundokun, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, Chief Abiola Ogundokun, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Prof.Tunde Adeniran, Dr Saka Balogun, Dr Olu Alabi, Chief Martins Kuye, Chief Joju Fadairo, Senator Kofo Bucknor-Akerele, Dr Ogunkelu, Chief Onikepe Oshodi Governor Olusegun Mimiko and Governor Fayose, who have the capacity to lead.

He cautioned Sheriff against the antics of some members who may be working towards a script against the collective interest of the party ahead of the convention and the 2019 elections.

But, Kashamu in a statement said “the recent visit of a delegation of leaders of the PDP in the Southwest to the National Working Committee (NWC) was not done to choose or pronounce anyone as the leader of the PDP in the Southwest, rather it was to pledge our support for the Senator Ali Moddu-Sheriff-led NWC.

“All that happened at the occasion was fortuitous. It is also true that people like to have a rallying point, and if some of our leaders and elders see me as a rallying point because of my generosity and empowerments activities over the years, I do not see why anyone should lose sleep over it. Leaders emerge naturally.”

On the proposal that the National Chairmanship of the party should remain in the North, Kashamu said it was the opinion of the delegation. “We were and are still of the view that given the strong presence of the PDP in the South, with 10 governors out of 17 governors in the South and just two governors in the 19 states in the North, it would make more sense to leave the National Chairmanship of the party in the North, so as not to be branded a regional party.

“Our view does not foreclose any other opinion or suggestion. If some other persons have any other idea, they are at liberty to push it. At the end of the day, it is either superior argument wins or we go to the convention. For us, as true party men, what is best for our party and majority of the stakeholders is all we want”.

Analysts are of the view that there was no consultation to carry along the stake holders in the zone, hence, the sharp disagreement among members. A member of the PDP’s Board of Trustees (BoT) Chief Ebenezer Babatope said it was an aberration for any right thinking member belonging to the Southwest Zone of the PDP to speak in contrary tone to the popular demand and worst still for such people to go ahead parading their views as if they were representing anybody.

According to him, whosoever says the Southwest is not ready for the position of the national chairman of the PDP now is not only speaking for himself but contrary to a popular demand from the zone. He noted that since the party has agreed to zone the presidency to the north in 2019, which of course is normal in this circumstance, it is imperative to zone the National Chairman to the Southwest.

Youth activist Kunle Olajire cautioned the leaders against imposing Kashamu as the Southwest leader. He recalled that it was his imposition that forced Obasanjo and his supporters out of the PDP. “Obasanjo felt slighted that Kashamu was elevated to such a position in the Southwest. That alone contributed to the party’s abysmal performance in the region during the last general elections”.

Olajire said: “I don’t believe that our leaders will trade off the legitimate demand of the Southwest because they know such a plot won’t work. What the Southwest is saying is, giving the national chairman to the South now would alienate a lot of northern leaders from the party.

“So, the proposal is to leave the national chairman in the North, ahead of 2019. We can then do a mid-term convention, probably in 2018, and take the position to the South,” he concluded.

March 31, 2016
Southwest PDP in quandary over Sheriff

Ahead of the national convention scheduled for May 21, the Southwest Peoples Democratic (PDP) is divided over the tenure elongation being canvassed for the National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff, by the zonal party leadership. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the implications of the proposal on the party’s cohesion in the zone.

The proposal by the Southwest leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to cede the position of the national chairman to the north is generating ripples in the zone.

When the National Vice Chairman, Southwest, Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe, led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu- Sheriff, he said the North should retain the position, ahead of the convention. He argued that, if the position comes to the South, it will resort in branding the PDP as a regional party.

Those opposed to the proposal said it contradicted the party’s position to zone the presidency to the north in 2019. Based on this, they argued that the Southwest should produce the next national chairman, a position, it has not held since the PDP was founded in 1998.

Analysts are of the view that the proposal was an orchestrated plot by some PDP governors to accommodate Sheriff in the forthcoming convention or seek tenure extension for him. To other observers, it is curious that the call came barely hours after Sheriff returned from the region and wondered whether the move is a tacit campaign for Sheriff.

A PDP chieftain, who spoke in confidence, said the Ogundipe leadership has plunged the Southwest PDP into an avoidable crisis at a time the party is factionalised in the zone.

He said: “I don’t know why our leaders would go to Abuja to tell the national chairman that the Southwest zone has agreed that the north should retain party chairmanship when such a sensitive matter has not been exhaustively discussed by the stakeholders let alone taking decision. The Ogundipe leadership has compromised the Southwest interest and the zoning arrangement on the sharing of party’s position.

“Ogundipe and his co-travellers are acting a script prepared by the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose towards achieving his political ambition in 2019. Fayose is eying the office of Vice President. His calculation is that if the Southwest produced the party’s national chairman, it will be impossible for him to emerge as the vice presidential candidate because the party will not zone the two key positions to the zone at a time.

The source added: “You can see that the Southwest PDP leaders are after the personal interest of an individual and not the larger interest. I am not surprised Ogundipe is promoting Fayose’s political ambition ahead of 2019 because he came to office by the grace of the governor. Remember, Ogundipe’s predecessor, Ishola Filani, was removed from office through the combined efforts of Fayose and Senator Buruji Kashamu. So, you can see why the Ogundipe leadership would go to any length to compromise the interest of Southwest zone because of Fayose.

“Another factor to be considered in this episode is the role Kashamu played in the victory of Fayose in the last governorship election in Ekiti State. Kashamu was one of the major financiers of Fayose’s campaigns. It was not surprising that the so called delegation led by Ogundipe told Sheriff to recognise Kashamu as leader of the party in the Southwest”.

But, the former PDP Vice Chairman (Southwest) Chief Ishola Filani, said retaining the chairmanship in the North will augur well for the party. According to him, there is no co-ordinating leadership for the PDP in the north.

Filani said the party’s position in the region is precarious with only two states. “We need the north to come back to the PDP. We have to let them know they are wanted in the PDP. To that effect we should concede the party chairmanship to the north for now. Whosoever emerges becomes the rallying point for the north. It will encourage them that they are still part of the party.

“Another reason why the PDP should retain chairmanship in the north is that the party should not be seen as a southern party. In the South, we can take care of ourselves. In the Southwest, we have two governors; the South-South, five governors and the South East, three governors. In the South, we are sophisticated enough to embrace and appreciate what the PDP stands for.

“We lost the 2015 presidential election because we didn’t pick our candidate from the North. In 2019, we should pick our presidential candidate from the north, by then the party’s chairmanship will return to the South. With that everybody will have a sense of belonging.

“The doctrine of necessity makes it apparent for us to pick our Chairman from the north for the survival of the party. It is an interim arrangement so that the north does not lie fallow. I am happy our leaders are now embracing the position I canvassed three or four months ago”.

A member of the delegation who does not want his name in print, said: “we unanimously endorsed Senator Buruji Kashamu, as leader of the party in the zone. We chorused the recognition of Kashamu, as leader of the party in the Southwest. The leader of the delegation, Ogundipe while speaking on our behalf poured encomiums on Kashamu.”

He said the original purpose of the meeting was just to express solidarity to Sheriff but not to jettison the legitimate demand of the zone. It was in the process of the meeting that some people started pushing the idea that Senator Sheriff should continue in office as National Chairman while Kashamu should be adopted as the Southwest leader of the party.

The source said contrary to the allegation that Kashamu was the one that sponsored the idea, it was not true. “In all honesty, he was not comfortable with the development but there was nothing he could do in that situation,” said the source.

Ogundipe was reported to have said about Kashamu: “There will be no Southwest PDP .without this man, even though we have two governors. Without Buruji in the Southwest, there is no PDP in Southwest. Hold him tight, he will assist you”.

Reacting to the development, Chairman, Lagos State PDP, Captain Tunji Shelle (rtd), dismissed the proposal. “Ogundipe can’t speak for me; he can’t speak for Lagos State and the Southwest in general”.

Shelle was surprised that Ogundipe told the national chairman that the proposal was endorsed by the Southwest. “But, I find it strange that the delegation claimed that after consultation with the major stakeholders in the zone, it was decided that the North should hold on to the office of the chairman. It is not true, he said.

Shelle added: “The party has set up a committee to zone the party offices. It is the committee that would decide which offices go to what zone. No zone can decide on what positions it would get. Ogundipe can’t decide for the party.”

The Chairman of Lagos Collectives of the PDP, Prof. Tejumade Akitoye-Rhodes, said it is a monumental shame for a few decrepit characters to claim that the Southwest was not interested in the office. He described the development as illogical and patently absurd. He said such a demand does not in any way represent the position or the will of the Yoruba people in the PDP.

According to Prof. Akitoye-Rhodes, the Southwest is the only region that has not occupied the prime office of the National Chairman of our great party since PDP came into being in 1998. He added that the region would fight with all legitimate tools to ensure that justice was duly served in this crucial matter. He said the zone still parades eminent personalities and powerful evocative names like Chief Olabode George, Alhaji Yekeen Adeojo, Chief Shuaib Oyedokun, Chief Abiola Ogundokun, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, Chief Abiola Ogundokun, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Prof.Tunde Adeniran, Dr Saka Balogun, Dr Olu Alabi, Chief Martins Kuye, Chief Joju Fadairo, Senator Kofo Bucknor-Akerele, Dr Ogunkelu, Chief Onikepe Oshodi Governor Olusegun Mimiko and Governor Fayose, who have the capacity to lead.

He cautioned Sheriff against the antics of some members who may be working towards a script against the collective interest of the party ahead of the convention and the 2019 elections.

But, Kashamu in a statement said “the recent visit of a delegation of leaders of the PDP in the Southwest to the National Working Committee (NWC) was not done to choose or pronounce anyone as the leader of the PDP in the Southwest, rather it was to pledge our support for the Senator Ali Moddu-Sheriff-led NWC.

“All that happened at the occasion was fortuitous. It is also true that people like to have a rallying point, and if some of our leaders and elders see me as a rallying point because of my generosity and empowerments activities over the years, I do not see why anyone should lose sleep over it. Leaders emerge naturally.”

On the proposal that the National Chairmanship of the party should remain in the North, Kashamu said it was the opinion of the delegation. “We were and are still of the view that given the strong presence of the PDP in the South, with 10 governors out of 17 governors in the South and just two governors in the 19 states in the North, it would make more sense to leave the National Chairmanship of the party in the North, so as not to be branded a regional party.

“Our view does not foreclose any other opinion or suggestion. If some other persons have any other idea, they are at liberty to push it. At the end of the day, it is either superior argument wins or we go to the convention. For us, as true party men, what is best for our party and majority of the stakeholders is all we want”.

Analysts are of the view that there was no consultation to carry along the stake holders in the zone, hence, the sharp disagreement among members. A member of the PDP’s Board of Trustees (BoT) Chief Ebenezer Babatope said it was an aberration for any right thinking member belonging to the Southwest Zone of the PDP to speak in contrary tone to the popular demand and worst still for such people to go ahead parading their views as if they were representing anybody.

According to him, whosoever says the Southwest is not ready for the position of the national chairman of the PDP now is not only speaking for himself but contrary to a popular demand from the zone. He noted that since the party has agreed to zone the presidency to the north in 2019, which of course is normal in this circumstance, it is imperative to zone the National Chairman to the Southwest.

Youth activist Kunle Olajire cautioned the leaders against imposing Kashamu as the Southwest leader. He recalled that it was his imposition that forced Obasanjo and his supporters out of the PDP. “Obasanjo felt slighted that Kashamu was elevated to such a position in the Southwest. That alone contributed to the party’s abysmal performance in the region during the last general elections”.

Olajire said: “I don’t believe that our leaders will trade off the legitimate demand of the Southwest because they know such a plot won’t work. What the Southwest is saying is, giving the national chairman to the South now would alienate a lot of northern leaders from the party.

“So, the proposal is to leave the national chairman in the North, ahead of 2019. We can then do a mid-term convention, probably in 2018, and take the position to the South,” he concluded.

March 30, 2016
Sheriff’s tenure elongation plan and PDP’s future

A secret plot to elongate the tenure of Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is putting the former ruling party on edge, reports Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo

The emergence of Ali Modu Sheriff as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in February was as shocking as it was unexpected.

Though a tested politician with a political resume that is quite intimidating, Sheriff is, however, one man many Nigerians love to hate on account of his alleged links with the Boko Haram group that has unleashed terror in the North-East for the past six years, leaving thousands of deaths in its trail.

From his governorship tenure in Borno State, alleged connection with Boko Haram, exit from the All Progressives Congress (APC), to his defection to the PDP and emergence as the party’s numero uno, Sheriff appears to covet controversy like bees are attracted to honey. This unflattering public image, according to his critics, made him the most unlikely candidate to lead a party in dire need of a radical repositioning, following its electoral drubbing last year.

But it soon emerged that the forces presently in control of the party has other plans up their sleeves. The vociferous opposition to Sheriff’s emergence notwithstanding, the forces backing him eventually had their way by reaching a truce with his antagonists that his tenure is on an acting capacity that would last for only four months.

Although Sheriff is expected to serve out the tenure of former Chairman, Adamu Muazu, who had to resign after the party lost the 2015 general elections, the need to have a new helmsman, even if temporary, became clear when party faithful from the North Eastern zone, where the position was zoned to, rejected the continued leadership of Uche Secondus, the Deputy National Chairman, who was made Acting Chairman after Muazu’s resignation.

Tenure elongation on the cards

But rather than draw the curtain on his tenure come May at the national convention of the PDP slated for Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital where a national chairman of the party would be elected, Sheriff, sources disclosed, is allegedly reaching out to influential stakeholders in the party with a view to extending his tenure beyond that period.

The Borno State-born politician, it was further gathered, enjoys the full backing of Governors Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Ayo Fayose (Ekiti) and Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo), three PDP state chief executives who in the last few months have, arguably, assumed the status of the most influential figures in the party.

While Mimiko is the Chairman of PDP Governors Forum (PDPGF), a position that confers on him a leadership role amongst his colleagues and within the party, Wike and Fayose are allegedly the biggest financiers of the party, which lost massive patronage after the 2015 elections.

A source said, “Plans are afoot to extend Sheriff’s tenure. As we move towards the May convention, the plan would begin to crystalise. In the last few weeks, the national chairman has been criss-crossing the country to win the confidence of the party elders, most particularly the governors, who remain the power brokers in the party. The choice of Port Harcourt for the convention is also very strategic. That way, Governor Wike, who is a strong backer of Sheriff, can easily reach out to the delegates to support his candidacy.”

Why no aspirant has emerged

With less than two months to the election of a new national chairman, the absence of any aspirant to contest the PDP national chairmanship, sources revealed, has further given credence to speculations that Sheriff is the anointed candidate of the power brokers in the party.

Former ministers in the immediate past administration, who vehemently opposed Sheriff as the party’s boss, are however, allegedly putting pressure on former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Bala Mohammed, to vie for the party chairmanship in May. But it is not clear yet if these former ministers have the backing of their former boss, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, on this plan.

Despite allowing peace to reign in the party after initially raising a lot of dust in the wake of Sheriff’s “imposition” as national chairman, it was gathered that the former ministers remain adamant that Sheriff is more of a burden rather than a blessing to the party.

Fayose’s calculations and battle for South West PDP leadership

A sub-plot in the ‘Sheriff’s tenure elongation plot,’ according to sources, is the alleged scheming by Governor Fayose to position himself as the leader of South-West PDP and by extension on a national level.

The Nation gathered that Fayose intends to upstage Mimiko, his Ondo State counterpart who is completing his second term tenure early next year, as the “face and voice” of PDP in the South-West. As the permutation goes, with Mimiko out of power, Fayose would become the only PDP governor in the region, thereby giving him the leverage to sway events and power play within the party in his favour.

About two weeks ago, Sheriff received in audience Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe, the PDP National Vice Chairman (South-West) in his office in Abuja. During the visit, Ogundipe, an indigene of Ekiti State, also urged stakeholders in the party to rally round Sheriff, while also canvassing for an extension of the current PDP chairman’s tenure. Sources say Ogundipe would not have made the statement without the express approval of the governor, who it was learnt is looking beyond his tenure beyond 2018 when he is expected to step down.

Unconfirmed speculations have it that the controversial Ekiti governor is allegedly nursing a vice presidential ambition in 2019, a development which allegedly led to a change of mind by the governor to have the South West produce the PDP national chairman to succeed Sheriff in May.

Other PDP governors keep mum

Even as the eight other PDP governors beside Wike, Fayose and Mimiko have refrained from rocking the boat over Sheriff’s leadership of the party, indications have emerged that most of them remain very uncomfortable with the situation in the party and are reportedly keeping their options open regarding the 2019 general elections.

Rumours that a few of the governors are secretly plotting to join the APC have refused to go away in spite of their several denials to that effect. These governors, The Nation learnt, have allegedly put any plan to defect on hold until late next year and latest by 2018, by which time the political future of the PDP would be much clearer.

Would Sheriff’s tenure extension reposition the PDP for the enormous challenges ahead or create more crises within the party in the months ahead? The answer to this poser would begin to unfold come May this year.

March 27, 2016
Sheriff decries exodus from PDP

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ali Modu Sheriff, has condemned the gale of defections from the party by its prominent leaders and members.

Speaking yesterday on a working visit to Ekiti State, the PDP chairman said no true politician leaves his party in the face of misfortunes such as electoral defeat.

The former Borno State governor described opposition to his emergence as normal and allowed in a democracy, adding that the party is waxing stronger and will be repositioned as an election-winning platform in the 2019 general elections.

Sheriff, who arrived on Wednesday evening, visited the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe and also visited the PDP secretariat on Ikere Road in Ajilosun yesterday morning.

The PDP boss said all hope is not lost for the party as seen from rerun elections held in some parts of the country and court victories secured by its candidates. He urged party members not to jump ship.

Sheriff said: “Anybody who is leaving the party after the party has lost is not a politician. True politicians do not leave their parties, and now we are winning.

“You can see that Governor Ayo Fayose is still standing in the party, despite the legal battles against his mandate. The people have voted him in and the court has upheld his election.

“If he were to be jumping from one party to the other, today he would not be walking on the streets of Ado-Ekiti and many would be hailing him, calling him Osoko.”

Dispelling beliefs in some quarters that the PDP is crippled, Sheriff said: “I don’t think that statement on our party being in critical condition is true because since the time I came into this party, we have conducted about four elections, and all these elections we have won, we have won two in Kogi, one in Benue.

“We won in Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa. A party that is crippled doesn’t win an election. Our party is standing and that is why we are winning all the elections. We are repositioning the party; we lost some elections, that is normal.

“When you are having challenges and you are busy tackling them, you would be waxing stronger, so, what is happening to PDP today is making us stronger and better than what it was in 1999.

“So, I would not agree with you when you say that our party is crippled, no. Our party has a problem and this problem has been surmounted. The problem we have was losing the presidential election and almost all the elections after that we have been winning.”

On opposition against his choice, Sheriff said: “Listen to me, what is democracy? Government of the people, by the people and for the people, there is no way in democracy, you would not have opposition.

“Even my brother, Fayose, who is loved by his people everywhere in Ekiti has those who don’t like him. So, it is normal. People have to air their views and be listened to. But the bottom line is that the majority would always have their way and minority would have their say.”

Fayose launched verbal attacks on President Muhammadu Buhari who he accused of bossing Nigerians.

The governor said: “We don’t want anybody to take away the rights of the people. I told Nigerians that Buhari will become a dictator and he is now a dictator. How can you detain somebody without taking him to court?

“He is putting PDP members in handcuffs while Boko Haram suspects are walking free. It is only a sectional leader who does this. We don’t belong to categories of people who will see the truth and refuse to say it.

“We are principled people; the change these people are talking about has become chains.

“I supported Sheriff because we want a leader who can pilot our affairs because some of those who were raising their voices under ex-President Goodluck Jonathan have gone underground because of fear and what they will eat.

“We know you have the capacity to restore the PDP and make it survive. You have the means and experience and we promise that we will always stand by you.”

March 18, 2016