Mantu, during PDP inaugural convention committee held in Abuja friday (05-08-2016). Photo: ENOCK REUBEN
Yemi Adebowale in Lagos and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
As the leaders of the Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP continue preparations for its next national convention
scheduled for Port Harcourt on August 17, highly competent sources close
to its leadership hinted THISDAY last night that a “Plan B” is in the
party’s bag, in case former acting national chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff
continues to distract the party.
The party has been in turmoil, several
weeks after its last National Convention in Port Harcourt, where the
tenure of Sheriff was terminated and Ahmed Makarfi appointed as acting
national chairman.
However, Sheriff refused to recognise
Makarfi and has been parading himself as acting national chairman, while
also using the court to frustrate efforts to properly reposition the
party.
An apparently frustrated member of PDP’s Board of Trustee, BoT who pleaded for anonymity, told THISDAY that every effort being made to unite the PDP was being frustrated by Sherriff “despite several court orders that effectively nullified his tenure as interim chairman.”
An apparently frustrated member of PDP’s Board of Trustee, BoT who pleaded for anonymity, told THISDAY that every effort being made to unite the PDP was being frustrated by Sherriff “despite several court orders that effectively nullified his tenure as interim chairman.”
The source said the party’s leaders had
resolved that should all the peace overtures to the renegade Sheriff
fail, they would all leave the party with all the governors and national
assembly members to form a new party with a new name and “leave the
rump to sherrif, to continue with his charade.”
He added: “Sheriff is President Buhari’s
in law (his son is married to one of Buhari’s daughers). The thinking
among the party leaders is that the All Progressives Congress is using
him to continue this distraction of the PDP. The APC has found in
Sheriff a willing tool to destabilise the opposition party. We know
their game plan. But we will not allow them to kill the opposition; more
so now that Nigerians are being pummeled by the APC government. The APC
is struggling to face the reality that it must pack out of Aso Rock by
2019. A weakened PDP is in the interest of President Buhari and the APC
and Sheriff is there to ensure they achieve their objective.”
The source also revealed that PDP is
ready to move on from its loss of power, reposition itself for 2019 in
order to do that it needs to earn the trust of Nigerians by providing a
virile opposition which Sheriff is frustrating.”
Meanwhile, the leaders of the party’s
Board of Trustees yesterday reminded members that the chairmanship of
the party “is not for sale to the highest bidder.”
As part of its renewed efforts to find
lasting peace in the party, the BoT said that it had set up another
peace committee headed by Prof. Jerry Gana to reach out to Sheriff.
The BoT statement came just as Makarfi
assured that everyone was still free to contest any position despite the
zoning arrangement approved by the party.
The chairman of the BoT, Senator Walid
Jubrin said what the party at the moment needed was an honest and
upright person and not someone who would buy his way into office.
“This party is not for sale. This party
must be a party of very conscious people. We are telling every delegate
to reject anybody that comes with money. We need an honest and upright
person,” he said.
Jibrin who spoke during the inauguration
of the planning committees for the convention, warned that the BoT
would no longer accept any leadership that is forced on it.
“We must remind all of us that the party
is supreme and above personal interest. This party is not for sale.
This party must be a party of very conscious people. We are telling
every delegate to reject anybody that comes with money. We need an
honest and upright person. This party will not want somebody that will
come and buy his way into office,” he said.
“Therefore I implore all of us to abide
by this principle. Today is party is characterized by court cases. I can
count about 15 court cases which is alien to the PDP. We have a
constitution that set out procedure for settling grievances and for us
to solve our problems internally.
“But unfortunately, rather than judging ourselves, our problems are going out and we are being judged by someone else outside of our constitution.
“But unfortunately, rather than judging ourselves, our problems are going out and we are being judged by someone else outside of our constitution.
We are not afraid and we cannot sit down
as fathers and conscience of the party and allow things go astray. The
BoT has sat down to look at the issues. While we accept in principle the
agreement reached for the national convention, we are looking at
another theory of reconciliation.”
While inaugurating the committees,
Makarfi explained that the though the party in its wisdom had zoned the
post of national chairman to the South West, it did not preclude others
from different zones from participating in the contest.