…Makarfi, Jibrin Must Go – Sheriff

…Who Is Sheriff? – Makarfi

The factional national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff‎, said yesterday that the embattled caretaker chairman of the party, Senator Ahmed Makarfi and chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Walid Jibrin, must vacate their seats before further talks on resolving the crisis in the party.
But Makarfi in a text message simply asked “who is Sheriff?”

Sheriff said it’s not just about holding a new convention in Abuja to elect new leaders, adding that the suggestions made by the BoT on Monday August 29 fell short of ‎the decisions recently reached with the reconciliation committee of the party, headed by Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State and a former deputy Senate president, Ibrahim Mantu.
‎He said while there was nothing like “caretaker committee” in the PDP constitution, the tenure of Senator Walid Jibrin as BoT chairman had expired, hence the urgency for the two to go.
Specifically, Sheriff accused Senator Walid Jibrin of bringing crisis into the party, and therefore must vacate his office for a new membership of the board to be constituted.
Addressing a news conference in Abuja, Sheriff, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, supported by Mr. Inuwa Bwala, his special adviser on media, said that the “source of irritation in the party is the still-born illegal caretaker committee” adding that the BoT should have advised that the “illegality” be addressed.
Ojougboh said: “We completely reject the vote of confidence passed on the illegal caretaker committee because a committee that has failed to successfully organize a convention on two occasions is a failure.
“We therefore call on his (Makarfi’s) friends, associates and family to advise him to do the needful and resign now, to save the multi-party democracy in Nigeria and stop the impunity that has been the bone of internal democracy.
“That the BoT chairman, Senator Walid Jibrin’s chairmanship has brought crisis to the party. In any case, his tenure has expired as he has spent more than 10 years as Secretary and Chairman of the BoT, which runs contrary to the constitution.
“A party where we have emminently qualified persons like Senator David Mark, Dr. Babangida Aliyu and others cannot be led by unstable individuals controlled by the love for money.
“Whereas the National Working Committee had agreed terms with the Reconciliation Committee on numerous occasions, yet the BoT will go public and make misguided and provocative statements, the leadership of the BoT must immediately be reconstituted to move the party forward. We make bold to state that until we get it right and check the impunity, the Nigerian opposition party won’t perform as required.
“As we move towards reconciliation, PDP should prevent any person or group from hijacking the party. Be rest assured that the PDP will emerge stronger as we note that impunity marred the party’s success in 2015 general elections.
“The agreement we had with Dickson and Mantu is that Sheriff should chair a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting where Makarfi will attend as a member of the BoT. At the meeting, a chairman of Convention Committee will be agreed upon, a new Convention Committee setup, including all other sub-committees such as zoning, finance, accreditation etc.
“The venue of the convention will be in Abuja, where a new leadership of the party will emerge, internal democracy will be respected and confidence will return to the party. And we had hoped that opportunity will be given where everybody will meet under one umbrella and shake hands and will see the PDP re-emerg for the challenges ahead,” he said.
The Senator Jibrin-led BoT had Monday asked Makarfi to organise a fresh national convention of the PDP in Abuja after calling for an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to be summoned by Makarfi for a date to be fixed.