PDP crisis: 18 state chairmen endorse Sheriff

Twenty-four hours after 24 state chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) certified Ahmed Makarfi, another 18, yesterday deepened the crisis in the party as they endorsed Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the authentic national chairman of the party.


The 24 chairmen, led by the FCT chairman Alhaji Yunusa Suleiman, had on Monday passed a vote of confidence on the chairman of the national caretaker committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi and stated that they stood strongly behind the decision of the Port Harcourt convention which produced the committee.

The mover of the motion for a vote of confidence on Sheriff, who claimed to be the chairman of the Ondo state chapter of the party, Prince Boroye Biyi, said contrary to claims that Sheriff was being sponsored by the All Progressives Congress, (APC), he was begged by the PDP governors to become the national chairman and was overwhelmingly voted by the national executive committee.

According to the sponsor of the motion, “if Sheriff is working for APC, it meant that the governors who brought him worked for the ruling party to destabilise the PDP”.

The vote of confidence on Sheriff was supported by Hon Lawan Gana, the PDP chairman for Yobe state.

Although the FCT chairman, who led the earlier delegation to Makarfi was conspicuously absent, the Adamawa state chairman of the party, Alhaji Abduraman Boboye, who was part of the Makarfi visit, stated that the PDP chairmen were in Abuja to appeal for peace with the two camps.

Boboye stated:”We thought it is necessary to contribute our widow’s might to ensure peace in our party so that we can prepare to give APC a good fight in 2019.”

Quoting Makarfi who he said was willing to step aside in the interest of peace, the Adamawa chairman appealed for calm and for the rule of law to take root in the affairs of the party.

Chairman, Ogun state chapter, Chief Adewale Bayo, who said he was speaking on behalf of the six chairmen from the Southwest, noted that they resolved to follow the Sheriff leadership, stating “that since we do not have immunity covering us, we are willing to abide by the rule of law which the Sheriff leadership symbolises.”

Earlier Senator Sheriff explained that he had invited them to tell them what happened in Port Harcourt reiterating that he had called-off the convention due to his inability to vacate two court orders restraining the conduct of elections into three offices of the national chairman, secretary and auditor and another which stated that elections should not be conducted into 18 offices whose tenure will expire in 2018.

We did not postpone the convention for any other reason. It was by the two court orders. It was a full judgement of court. I didn’t go to court but the women leader, the youth leader went to court to enforce their rights. Illegality must give way to legality.

 I am not interested in the party being injured for one day but the rule of law must take its course”, Sheriff said.