PDP Crisis: Gov. Dickson 'Betrayed' Us; I'm Shocked - Makarfi ... New Twist Springs

The chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Makarfi has expressed displeasure with Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa state.

Makarfi’s anger at Dickson stemmed from the publicity given the governor’s presentation of a committee report to the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff on Tuesday.

Among others, the said report contained recommendations for the conduct of a national convention, tentatively fixed for June 30.

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In a statement he circulated in Abuja on Wednesday, Makarfi faulted the Bayelsa Governor for making the report public without consultation with relevant stakeholders.

According to him, the governor spurned advice to circulate and consult widely with key organs and stakeholders, adding that the said report was still subject to review and amendment.

Makarfi said Dickson presented him with a draft of the report and that he had advised the governor to ensure proper consultation and effect some changes before making it public.

“I am shocked and disappointed that the Gov. of Bayelsa made public presentation of a purported report approved or endorsed by us and other stakeholders as reported.

“He met me yesterday (Tuesday) and I pointed out the problems with his proposals. That it will go against even the Court of Appeal Judgement.

“At the end, I told him as Caretaker Committee, whatever is approved by the organs of the party that we represent, we will work with and I advised him to revert back to his colleagues and other organs. But this is what we are seeing.

“Be that as it may, the Committee never saw any draft report even though he promised coming with it. In any case, as personal advice, I referred him back to the organs of the party and the Goodluck Jonathan Committee. There was nothing before us from organs of the party to accept or reject”.

The said report had conceded to Sheriff powers to preside over the proposed and to select 12 members into the Convention Planning Committee, in consultation with party stakeholders.

Among those listed as members of the Convention Planning Committee include seven serving governors, seven serving senators, 12 members of the House of Reps, six members of the BoT and six national vice chairmen.

Others include 18 zonal chairmen, six Speakers of state assemblies; six former governors, former presiding officers of the National Assembly, six prominent Women Leaders, six youth leaders and six former ministers.

TRENDING... PDP Crisis: Makarfi Group Surrenders, Recognises Sheriff As Chairman ...Gov. Dickson Submits Convention Report To Sheriff

PDP Crisis: Makarfi Group Surrenders, Recognises Sheriff As Chairman ...Gov. Dickson Submits Convention Report To Sheriff

The leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has finally come to an end with the recognition of Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff as the National Chairman of the party by the Senator Ahmed Makarfi faction of the party.

This came to light on Tuesday during the submission of a report of the party’s reconciliation committee to Senator Modu-Sheriff by the chairman of the committee, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja.

The Makarfi faction also agreed that Modu-Sheriff should chair the convention of the party being proposed for June 30.

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Speaking with newsmen after submitting the report, Governor Dickson said political solution is the best option in resolving the party’s crisis, adding that litigation would continue to cause more divisions in the party.

Responding to a question on who would preside over the convention, Dickson said that the Court of Appeal judgment which upheld Modu-Sheriff as the National Chairman of the PDP had already taken care of the question.

“If you go to the Appeal Court or Supreme Court and get judgment, you will still conduct a national convention, so political solution is be best option.’’

Responding after receiving the report, Sheriff said that the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) would look into the report with a view to implementing its recommendations.

“Looking at what you are proposing, in my mind, you have taken all the stakeholders of the party into consideration. There is no section of the party that you have left behind.

“If we as a people given the responsibility are to do this, we may not do better than this.

According to him, whatever amendment that will be done to the recommendations will be made available to the reconciliation committee and Nigerians.

Sheriff added that he was ready to conduct the national convention even if given one month to do so.

In the report, the reconciliation committee recommended that the party holds its national convention not later than June 30.

The committee also proposed that the convention planning committee should consist of seven PDP governors; seven senators including the deputy senate president, as well as 12 members of the House of Representatives.

Dickson, who read out some of the recommendations, said the committee also proposed that six members of the Board of Trustees (BoT), the state chairmen of zones, and six serving speakers of the State Houses of Assembly should be included in the planning committee.

“This should also include six former governors; former presiding officers of the National Assembly who are still members of the party; six prominent women leaders.

“Others are six youth leaders; six former ministers of the party and 12 others to be nominated by the national chairman in consultation with stakeholders of the party.

“We also proposed that the convention committee shall be responsible for the conduct of the elections into all national offices of the party including the zoning of such offices,’’ Dickson said

Dickson said that the committee proposed that national officers who may claim that their tenure‎ still subsists beyond the proposed convention, had been requested to relinquish their claim in the interest of the party.

He said the committee views the proposal as part of the sacrifice to be made in order to reposition the party.

Dickson expressed the hope that the convention would enable the party to move forward.

APDP: PDP Crisis ESCALATE As Sheriff Moves To Block Makarfi Group To Register New Party

As the crisis in the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) escalates, Ali Modu Sheriff has threatened to work against the registration of Advanced Peoples Democratic Party (APDP), a party Ahmed Makarfi and his faction have decided to float.

Makarfi and his team are set to dump the PDP for Ali Modu Sheriff and his followers since the crisis in the party is tearing the members apart.

Makarfi and his group were said to have approached INEC seeking to register a new party to be called ‘Advanced PDP,’ a move that observers suggested may likely open a new acrimonious frontier in the party.

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Daily Trust is reporting that the move by the Makarfi may hit a brick wall as Sheriff has vowed to truncate his move to register the new party and dump PDP for him and his few followers.

Legal Adviser to Sheriff, Bashir Maidugu said Makarfi’s move to use the name PDP will meet with strong resistance.

Sheriff’s faction said it is ready to challenge the planned registration of the APDP by the Makarfi faction.

Maidugu said the PDP is a recognized party in the country, noting any move to duplicate the party’s name will not work for any group of persons.

Sheriff says it will go to court to challenge group said it will go to court to challenge the planned registration.

He said: “We are recognised legally by the Court of Appeal and all law abiding citizens should abide by the decision of the court. Anything contrary to this is contemptuous.”

He called on INEC to avoid complicating issues by not registering any party with the name PDP in whatever guise.

I Won't RESIGN As PDP Chairman - Sheriff Shrug-Off Jonathan's Peace Deal, Talks Tough

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ali Modu Sheriff has declared that he would not step down as the national leader of the party.

He made the claim in reaction to a statement credited to former President Goodluck Jonathan asking him and the Caretaker Chairman of the party, Ahmed Makarfi to step down from their various positions and allow governors nominate a Chairman to lead the party.

In a statement signed by the spokesperson of Sheriff’s faction, Bernard Mikko, maintained that the issue of resignation never came up during the meeting the former Borno State Governor had with Jonathan.

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The statement reads, “The general public, PDP members and the media are hereby informed that the issue of the National Chairman’s resignation as the political solution has never been discussed nor was it put up for discussion with the former President and other stakeholders.

“The general public, PDP members nationwide and the media are hereby informed that shortly before the Court of Appeal judgement of 17th February, 2017, all parties and stakeholders agreed that on the receipt of the Court of Appeal judgement, whichever way it goes; members will be prevailed upon and urged to support the judgement and orders of the Court of Appeal and rally round the successful party to conduct; as soon as possible a national unity convention for the election of officers; the modalities of which shall be worked out by all stakeholders of the party.

“As law abiding citizen and advocate of the rule of law, the National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff hereby calls on all stakeholders including but not limited to PDP governors; national and state assembly members; Board of Trustee members to make themselves available and give their input on how we can; as quickly as possible conduct a national unity convention where our national officers will be elected. The National Chairman has promised and undertaken not to contest”.

2019: 7 PDP Govs Pray Makarfi Loses At S'Court, Plot New Party To Seek Reelection As The UMBRELLA Over Battered

“If Makarfi wins at the Supreme Court, we will still rebrand the PDP. But in the event he loses, it makes the job much easier."

The above was a quote credited to a governor over various crises plaguing the party and plot to form a new party as battered image of the People Democratic Party, PDP no longer a haven as 2019 draws nearer.

According to New Telegraph, governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may have concluded plans to dump the party and float a new political party, irrespective of the outcome of the appeal filed by the Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee, before the Supreme Court.

The caretaker committee had, last week, filed an appeal at the Supreme Court challenging the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt division, which reinstated Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as National Chairman.

PDP governors are on the side of Makarfi in the leadership crisis that has factionalised the party since the May 21, 2016 National Convention.

Seven out of the 10 PDP governors are in their first term in office. A highly placed member of the party confided in New Telegraph that none of the governors would like to seek second term in office on the platform of the party.

“PDP is associated with corruption and most of the party members are no longer comfortable with the name. Discussions have reached an advanced level, even before the Court of Appeal judgement, to float an entirely new political party,” one of the governors told New Telegraph at the weekend.

Adopting a new name for the party had generated heated debates at the several sittings of the Professor Jerry Gana-led Strategy Review and Interparty Affairs Committee empanelled by the National Caretaker Committee.

A member of the 115-member committee disclosed that: “Some people say PDP’s name is so bad that we can’t win elections, that the name should be changed. But the consensus is that we should retain that name.

It is the general opinion that the name remains solid even under APC.” The committee, according to the member, recommended only a slight change in the party’s slogan while the name is still retained.

Another member of the committee also revealed that formation of a new party is an option if the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government continues to frustrate the PDP’s revival through the courts.

The report of the committee was yet to be submitted to the organs of the party to make their own inputs before the February 17 Court of Appeal judgement, which reinstated Sheriff as PDP National Chairman.

According to the governor, none of the PDP governors was planning to defect to APC as was being speculated. Rather, he said, they were unanimous in floating a new political party and impose it on the PDP structure, as a platform to contest the 2019 general elections.

“We are aware of the antics of APC and we do not want it to continue to hold us down. We are working towards forming a new party; we have been discussing that.

“Nigerians don’t want to hear the PDP name again, and we don’t want to go into an election with a party that has bad image,” he added. Another governor told New Telegraph that the option before the party is to either float entirely new political party or take over the existing one and change its name.

“If Makarfi wins at the Supreme Court, we will still rebrand the PDP. But in the event he loses, it makes the job much easier.

We are considering the option of floating a new party or take over one of the fringe parties,” the governor said.

Even Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose spoke confidently that the platform he would use to prosecute the 2018 governorship election would not be a problem, in the event that the PDP structure continues to remain with Sheriff. “On the issue of platform, be assured that nothing will go wrong. Don’t worry about me.

The election is just 20 months away, let us keep our fingers crossed. Be assured that my election is an election that heaven is celebrating already,” Fayose said immediately after the Court of Appeal judgement.

Fayose had said immediately after the Ondo State governorship election last year that he was considering prosecuting the 2018 Ekiti State governorship election on a different platform. “Sheriff and his faction had worked against PDP in Edo and Ondo states.

He disgraced the former Ondo State governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko and ensured that the person he chose as his successor, Hon. Eyitayo Jegede, lost to the APC candidate,” the Ekiti helmsman said.

After Mimiko, the next target is believed to be Fayose, who is one of the governors who are against him.

The former Borno State governor had claimed that some of the PDP governors are with him, but former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Abdullahi Jalo, said none of the governors is with him.

Jalo said there are several options before the PDP under Makarfi, which, he said includes formation of a new party.

“If we are moving, we are moving en masse,” he said. “PDP is aware that APC will block any move by its members to register a new political party, hence the plan to use pseudonym and then tell its members to join.

That is only if the appeal before the Supreme Court fails. “But in the event that the appeal succeeds, the party will apply to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for a change of name,” the source disclosed.

However, spokesperson for the caretaker committee, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said there is no such plan to form another political party.

“There is nothing like that. Everybody is talking about it, but that is not the situation. What I can tell you is that we don’t have such plan to form any party,” Adeyeye told New Telegraph. When asked what option is left for the party if the appeal fails at the Supreme Court, he answered: “Let’s wait for the appeal; we will cross the bridge when we get there.”

BREAKING: Ekiti Senator Dumps Fayose's Camp For Sheriff's

While the Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, champions the movement against Ali Sheriff as Peoples Democratic Party chairman, a senator from his state has declared full support for Mr. Sheriff.

Mr. Sheriff has been recognised as PDP chairman by the Court of Appeal. But Mr. Fayose, who heads the PDP Governors Forum, and other party leaders have restated their opposition to Mr. Sheriff ad vowed to appeal the judgement at the Supreme Court.

However, on Sunday, Fatimat Raji-Rasaki, who represents Ekiti Central Senatorial District said Mr. Sheriff was the authentic national chairman of the PDP.

She made the declaration on Sunday in Ado-Ekiti while speaking with journalists at the end of a three-day capacity building training on ICT she organised for 100 beneficiaries in her constituency.

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Mrs. Raji-Rasaki’s declaration comes days after another senator from Bayelsa State, Ben Murray-Bruce also declared support for Mr. Sheriff saying there was no need for further litigations.

On Sunday, Mrs. Raji-Rasaki, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Trade and Investment, said the era of impunity was dead in the PDP.

She said that the Court of Appeal judgment which affirmed Mr. Sheriff as the national chairman of PDP had afforded the party an opportunity to put its house in order.

The lawmaker, who belongs to a rival PDP faction in Ekiti different from the governor’s, said the recent developments in Ekiti and at the national level, would enable the PDP prepare ahead of the 2019 general elections.

She described the Court of Appeal judgment as a “new lease of life’’ for members of the party.

 Fatimat Raji-Rasaki

The senator, who distributed free laptops to participants who attended the training, stressed that anybody that wants to make impact in today’s world must be empowered technologically.

She urged the beneficiaries to put into practice what they learnt at the training.

Mrs. Raji-Rasaki expressed sadness that impunity, lawlessness, violation of the PDP constitution and abuse of power by people whose names she did not mention, had negatively affected the party’s fortunes before the judgment.

She expressed hope that the PDP would emerge stronger from its crises to be a party that would allow equity, justice, fair play, adherence to due process and the principles of democracy to thrive.

The senator expressed satisfaction that the judiciary intervened and resolved the protracted crises rocking the party.

She lauded the Ekiti chapter of the party for affirming Williams Ajayi as the authentic state chairman.

She alleged that some individuals in the PDP had turned the party into their personal property where party congresses and primaries elections to elect candidates were hijacked.

She added that members of the party were not allowed to choose candidates of their choice.

She said: “Crisis in any political party is part of democracy because we disagree to agree.

“We, the authentic PDP, are being led by Ali Modu Sheriff and we thank God that the court judgment has put an end to impunity in our party.

“Impunity is one thing that destroys any organisation or association where people decide and subscribe to rules and regulations guiding them.

“It is a pity that some people turned the PDP to a place where one person will corner everything and turn it to PLC.

“A party is supposed to be where everybody has a say because we are in a democracy

“In Ekiti, the authentic executive has won in court as well, so in the PDP, we have no option than to obey the rule of law.”

PDP Crisis: Shock As Jonathan 'Endorses' Sheriff At Abuja Secret Meeting; Here Is What They Discussed

It is no longer news that the former Borno State Governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff has been adjudged as the authentic Chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; but the shocking new is the Former President Goodluck Jonathan, who may have endorsed him when he referred to him yesterday as 'MY CHAIR' as both held a closed-door meeting in Abuja.

News Punch reported yesterday that the victorious former factional chairman, turned authentic visited Goodluck Jonathan yesterday at his Abuja resident.

Read Also: Jonathan Hosts PDP's Authentic Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff; See Photos

Jonathan, before now is believed to be behind the Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the. In fact, all his associates, and aides, like Governor Nysom Wike of Rivers State, and other are in the sacked faction.

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Jonathan’s endorsement came amid protests by the Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee and other critical organs of the party against the Appeal Court’s ruling that affirmed Sheriff’s chairmanship.

Receiving Sheriff and members of his team at his Maitama, Abuja residence  yesterday, Jonathan, who kept addressing Sheriff as “my chairman”, said there were no factions in the party.

Speaking after a closed door meeting with Sheriff and his team, Jonathan said: “We are not factionalised. We are one. There are bound to be differences in politics. We cannot run away from that.

“It is the way we resolve these differences that makes us human beings and that is what makes us leaders. I have met with Sheriff. And I have met with others. I will still meet with others, so that we will be able to do what is expected of us as a political party.”

Also speaking after the meeting, Sheriff said his mission was to unite the party and place it on a sound footing to provide credible opposition to the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.

Sheriff said he would not respond to the unprintable names he was being called by his traducers, stating that there would be no difference between him and those against him if he decided to respond to them.

“I will not respond to the name-calling because if I do, there would be no difference between them and me. Very soon, you will hear from me when I finish my consultation as I will roll out my programmes that will lead to the holding of a national convention,” he added.

Saying he was still consulting, Sheriff stressed that there could be only one national chairman, adding: “We are putting everything together to ensure that the party is united.”

“We are not fighting and this is no time to join issues with people. We want everybody to come back to the party. Very soon I will get back to you when I finish my consultations. I won’t tell you anything before I finish consultations.”

He added that the constitution of the party does not recognise a caretaker committee.

“There is only one PDP and there is only one national chairman. A group of people has the right to sit and discuss as only a group of people but not as PDP. If I go down to their level to exchange words with them, then I would not be different from them.

“We don’t have anything like caretaker committee in our party. As father of the party, I will make sure everybody is united. I will make sure that everybody gets what they want in PDP.

“By the time I finish my convention, Nigerians will know that we mean well for the party,” Sheriff said.

The meeting, which held behind closed doors, was also attended by Sheriff’s Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh; Acting National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Bernard Mikko; and the National Youth Leader, Mr. Demis Alonge-Niyi.

Also at the meeting were the party’s National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, and the Financial Secretary, Mr. Adewole Adeyanju.

As the meeting was ongoing, the sacked National Caretaker Committee of the party said it had appealed the Court of Appeal judgment which removed it from office.

The committee, which was headed by a former Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, stated this after the faction’s stakeholders’ meeting.

The meeting was held at the private residence of the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, who is the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum.

Even after their closed-door meeting, which was held with a few members of Sheriff’s entourage, the former President still referred to Sheriff as “my chairman.”

Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Jonathan said the troubled party remained one, adding that there was no faction in it.

Acknowledging that there were problems in the party, the ex-President, however, stated that efforts were being made to resolve them.

Jonathan added, “We are solving our problems. There are bound to be differences in politics.  It is the way we resolve these differences that makes us human beings and that is what makes us leaders.

“We are not factionalised; we are one. I have met with Sheriff and I have met with others. I will meet with others (again) so that we will be able to do what is expected of us as a political party.”

At the PDP Stakeholders’ meeting, however, the Makarfi group passed a vote of confidence in the caretaker committee, insisting that the committee would remain in place until the determination of its appeal at the Supreme Court.

A former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, read the communique of the meeting, which was attended by the governors of Akwa Ibom State (Udom Emmanuel); Delta State (Ifeanyi  Okowa); Rivers State (Nyesom Wike); and the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

Members of the National Assembly, former ministers, former governors and members of the Board of Trustees of the party were also in attendance.

Reading the communique, Gana said, “That we fully endorse the prompt and proactive decision of the National Caretaker Committee to lodge an appeal at the Supreme Court of Nigeria against the decision of the Court of Appeal as well as filing an application for injunction pending an appeal, all of which were done in the morning of Monday, February 20, 2017.

“Having duly filed both an appeal at the Supreme Court and an application for injunction pending appeal in the morning of Monday, February 20, 2017, we pass a resounding and unqualified vote of confidence in the leadership of the Senator Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee of the PDP and pledge our unalloyed support to it as it pilots the affairs of the party in this critical transitional period of the party’s life.

“To this end, we are not at all deceived by the supposed olive branch being offered by Senator Ali Modu Sherrif, knowing that the only thing that can come from traitors of his ilk is nothing but a poisoned chalice and a Greek gift.”

Earlier in the day, the Nigeria Police Force had barricaded the International Conference Centre, Abuja, venue of the scheduled stakeholders’ meeting.

Jonathan Hosts PDP's Authentic Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff; See Photos

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, on Monday, visited former President Goodluck Jonathan at the ex-President’s Abuja home.

Sheriff, who chairs a faction of the party, arrived at Jonathan’s Maitama home at 4.25 p.m and was accompanied by some members of his National Working Committee (NWC).

Those that accompanied Sheriff included the Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh; National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo and the National Financial Secretary, Adewole Adeyanju.

Others are former Political Adviser, Ahmed Gulak; a former Minister of State for Finance, Yerima Ngama and Senator Umar Gada, among others.

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The faction visited the former president just as members of the Ahmed Makarfi-led faction held an emergency meeting in Abuja to discuss latest developments in the party with regards to the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, which affirmed Sheriff as the authentic National Chairman of the party.

Sheriff has been on a fence-mending mission since the Appeal Court ruling. He met weekend with former military Head of State and one of the backers of the PDP, General Ibrahim Babangida.