National chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff has applied to the Supreme Court for the withdrawal of an appeal filed in the name of the party, challenging his affirmation as the authentic national chairman of the PDP.

The appeal with number SC.133/2017, was filed on February 27, 2017, in the name of the PDP by the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee to challenge the February 17, 2017 judgment of the Appeal Court Port Harcourt, which recognised Sheriff as the PDP chairman.

The national legal adviser and member of the Sheriff-led PDP National Working Committee (NWC), Barrister Bashir Maidugu confirmed last night that using the ýname of the PDP for the appeal would not stand as the Appeal Court had given Sheriff legitimacy.

The court documents showed that the motion against Makarfi was filed before the Supreme Court on March 16, 2017.

Filed through their counsel, Chief Akinlolu Olujinmi (SAN), the motion stated that by virtue of the Court of Appeal’s judgment, Makarfi and other members of his faction were “not the alter ego of the party and were incompetent” to institute any legal process in the name of the party.

The court papers read: “More importantly, however, the persons who have instigated the filing of the appeal and instructed lawyers to act for the appellant namely, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, Senator Ben Obi, and Mr. Dayo Adeyeye, who continue to style and parade themselves as the National Caretaker Committee of the PDP do not have the authority or power to do so.

“Senator Ahmed Makarfi, Senator Ben Obi and Mr. Adeyeye, who seek to hide behind corporate veil of the PDP are, in fact, doing so in furtherance of disregard of the judgment of the lower court which clearly amounts to exposing the administration of justice to disrepute and public odium as evidenced by their utterances against the justices of the lower court after the delivery of the judgment of the lower court. “The corporate personality of the appellant can only be invoked by its legal alter ego, vide the National Working Committee/National Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, consisting of the first and second respondents (Sheriff and Oladipo) and other officers represented by them, not Senators Ahmed Makarfi, Senator Ben Obi, and Mr. Adeyeye who are not officers of the appellant (the PDP) at all, as confirmed by the judgment of the lower court.”