Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, Chairman, National Caretaker Committee, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says the committee will not surrender the party to anybody in an undemocratic manner.
Makarfi stated this on Thursday when a delegation of PDP Concerned Grassroots Stakeholders from Borno visited him at the party’s temporary secretariat in Abuja.
He assured them that irrespective of the legal outcome of the leadership crisis, PDP’s democratic principles would not be abandoned.
“Yes, we are open to political resolution provided it is genuine, sincere, comprehensive, democratic, and legally watertight.
“We are not surrendering the party in an undemocratic manner to anybody, including myself.
“It is not just about Ali Modu Sheriff, it can be Sheriff or anybody. We will not submit this party in an undemocratic manner to anybody.
“The caretaker members have several times said that we are representing party organs and followers of the party. Whatever the organs and followers of the party want are what we will do,’’ Makarfi said.
On the recent judgment by the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, on the party leadership, he said that the court did not make specific reference to Sheriff’s chairmanship.
According to him, it only said that the status quo before May 21, 2016, should remain.
“This means that all former national officers should return to their seats, not the officers appointed by Sheriff, not officers appointed by me, but this has not been complied with.
“So you can see that the judgment has been reduced to only one person, excluding all others affected; this is recipe for disaster,’’ Makarfi said.
He said that until the judgment was fully complied with, PDP would never come out of its “legal quagmire’’.
Makarfi described Sheriff’s pledge to conduct a national convention before June as a deception as the tenure of three national officers of the party would expire in August and another 18 officers in 2018.
He said that unless the Court of Appeal judgment was reversed by the Supreme Court, the party would be further divided.
“If it is upheld, God forbid, it basically means that there can only be a convention in August to elect the chairman, secretary and auditor.
Earlier, leader of the delegation, Mr Usman Ibrahim, said that the concerned PDP stakeholders from Borno had unanimously pledged loyalty to the caretaker committee.
“We also concur with the decision taken by the Makarfi-led PDP and any other decisions that would be taken with special consideration and consultation,’’ Ibrahim said.
He urged Makarfi to ensure that PDP in Borno was carried along in decisions regarding the party and that all meetings affecting it at the state level were held in the state, and not Abuja.
National Chairman of PDP, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, is from Borno.