SHERRIFF No peace in PDP unless Makarfi resigns

Peoples Democratic Party, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, has said that he
will not relinquish his claim to the leadership of the party. Rather,
he said his rival, who is the Chairman of the party’s National
Caretaker Committee, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, must resign before
peace would return to the troubled party. Sheriff spoke in Abuja
on Monday when he hosted a delegation of the party from Abia
State.

He said it was true that a meeting was held in Abuja last week
Tuesday on how to bring all warring factions in the party
together.
Unfortunately, he said the meeting could not agree with the most
important aspect of his conditions. Apart from the resignation of
Makarfi, Sheriff said that he (sheriff) must be allowed to nominate
the chairman and 10 others into the new convention committee.
He said he was ready to accept another 10 members for the
committee from the Makarfi group.

The former governor said these were the demands he made at a
meeting held with leaders of the party, including Markafi last
Tuesday at the Taraba State Governor’s Lodge, Abuja. Senator
Buruji Kashamu, who represents Ogun East in the Senate,
confirmed that the meeting was held in a statement. Buruji listed
those at the meeting to include the Deputy President of the
Senate, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu; Governor Seriake Dickson of
Bayelsa State, Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State, Governor
Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State, Governor Olusegun Mimiko
of Ondo State, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and the
Minority Leader of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio.

Others, he said, were the Deputy Minority Whip of the Senate,
Sen. Biodun Olujinmi; Sen. Suleiman Adokwe from Nassarawa
State; Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Sen. Walid Jubrin;
House Minority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor; former Deputy President of
the Senate, Sen. Ibrahim Mantu and himself.
Sheriff also said that he told those at the meeting that the
proposed national convention should not hold in Port Harcourt, but
in Abuja.

He said these were the conditions he said should be met before
he would speak to members of his National Working Committee.
These members, he added, would be persuaded to resign and
present themselves again for election and if they so wish, give-up
their offices in the interest of the party.

According to sheriff, “People are very interested in our party and
how the impasse will be settled, before the Port Harcourt
convention was aborted by a court order.

~ Afikpo Chic's Blog