ABUJA, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Reprieve came the way of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff on Tuesday, as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national caucus and Board of Trustees (BoT), in what appears to be a compromise agreement, limited his tenure to about three months.
Ali Modu Sheriff
The caucus and members of the BoT met with most of the state governors present at the Ondo State Government Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, where they resolved to support the former Borno State governor as the party boss as he begins the process of conducting nationwide party congresses and national convention within the next two weeks.
The support of members of BoT for Sheriff is a turnaround from their initial opposition to his emergence, which the board re-echoed on Monday.
Members of the board, led by its acting chairman, Senator Walid Jibrin, joined state governors led by the forum chairman, Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State and the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, to announce the decision after Tuesday’s meeting.
Mimiko said the party had got over the crisis of the last few days and had resolved to back Sheriff, who was also present at the meeting, in his position as the party chairman.
He said the party boss, working with the rest of the National Working Committee (NWC), would, in the next two weeks, release the timetable for the congresses and national convention.
“Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, we are just coming from a meeting. You are all aware of some controversies generated recently because of resent development in our party.
“I am happy to let you know that all the major organs of the party, the Governors Forum, the National Working Committee, the National Assembly caucus and the Board of Trustees, we have agreed to stand by our national chairman to ensure that our party moves forward.
“We have put behind us all the controversies in the press in recent times. I want to assure you that we are together as a party, we are strong.
“We have also mandated the National Working Committee, the national chairman to put in motion immediately, the processes of ensuring that within three months, a national convention of our party is called and he briefs all our members nationwide in the next two weeks of our timetable in that direction.
“In the next two weeks, the timetable will be out and all culminating in our national convention within three months.
“I want to assure all of you that PDP is ready. We want to thank Nigerians that have expressed concern or showed appreciation for our party and we want to let them know that as one big family, we are set and ready to move forward with the party and to give good governance in this country,” he said.
On the opposition of former ministers in the party, Mimiko said since the ministers belong to various states of the federation, the views of the national caucus cover them.
According to him, “all I can tell you is that every past minister is a product of the state caucus of the party. They emanate from the state. The caucus of the party is all designed that every state is represented by the chairman of the party.
“Secondly, all the key organs in the party are also represented in the caucus. The governors are there, National Assembly members, National Working Committee members, BoT members are there.
“And I tell you that every governor, NWC member, member of the National Assembly emanate from the state organ of the party. All state chairmen are members of the caucus, they are members of NEC.
“They were part and parcel of the decision that led to this controversy. Everything is going on very well. There is no problem,” he added.
In his remarks, the acting BoT chairman, Senator Jibrin, corroborated Mimiko, thanking the governor for what he termed their “tireless” effort to resolve the controversy.
He said what Mimiko said was a true reflection of what the meeting resolved, while he called on all members to be calm within the three months, as he was sure everything would be settled.
However, the former PDP Ministers Forum rose from their meeting in Abuja, on Tuesday, resolving to maintain their opposition against Senator Modu Sheriff.
In a communique issued at the end of the meeting, read by the forum’s chairman and former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki, the forum said: “the forum of PDP ministers affirms the commitment of ideals and core values of founding fathers.We reject Sheriff as national chairman due to the illegitimacy that brought him into power.
“The forum calls for the conduct of congress at all levels of the party, leading to the national convention to be held on March 27, so as to return power to the people.
“The forum condemns all acts of impunity in the running of the party and calls for the respect of the party constitution.
“The forum noted with dismay the threat to one of our own, Femi Fani-Kayode, by the chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff. We want to note that a threat to one is a threat to all.”
Responding to a question on the U-turn made by the BoT on the matter, Turaki said by the time the former ministers took their position, which he said was guided by their conscience, “we felt that the process deployed to appoint national chairman was flawed.”
Among the former ministers at the meeting were Femi Fani-Kayode, Bala Mohammed, Dr Suleiman Abubakar, Professor A.B.C. Nwosu, Professor Taoheed Adedoja, Professor Jerry Gana, Aminu Wali, Lawal Batagarawa, Professor Tunde Adeniran, Mrs Felicia Akwashiki, Mr Mike Onolememen, Chief (Mrs) Jumoke Akinjide, Musa Sada, Mr Steve Oru, Mohammed Wakil, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, Edem Duke, Mrs Josephine Anenih, Mr John Odeh, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, Shettima Mustapha, Boni Haruna and Eyak Eneyin.
Meanwhile, senators of the PDP met on Tuesday and agreed to give the new national chairman up to April to vacate the office.
The senators, who met in a closed door at the Senate Hearing Room 1 of the White House wing in the Assembly complex, agreed that Sheriff should remain in office till April.
Sources at the meeting said the lawmakers agreed to drop the defection plan, adding that “it was agreed that the planned mass defection be suspended forthwith. Senators have now agreed to allow the chairman complete the tenure of the North-East as already stated by the PDP Governors Forum.”
Senators also agreed to reach out to organs of the party to communicate their decision and await further directions on congresses and the national convention, another source said.
Senators of the PDP had angrily objected to the choice of Senator Modu Sheriff last week, with many of them threatening to dump the party.
The lawmakers and their counterparts in the House of Representatives had threatened to quit the PDP as a result of public perception of the new national chairman.
But emissaries from the elected governors on the platform of the PDP had persistently bombarded the lawmakers in order to get them back out of the defection plan.
I’m not afraid of Sheriff – Fani-Kayode
Chief Fani-Kayode, on Tuesday, dared the national chairman of PDP, Senator Modu Sheriff, to court if he was not comfortable over his comment regarding his alleged association with Boko Haram sect.
Fielding questions with newsmen shortly after the opening session of PDP Former Ministers’ Forum in Abuja, Fani-Kayode described as empty, the threat by Modu Sheriff that he would be dealt with for his comment.
The former minister, who was also the director of media and publicity of the defunct PDP presidential campaign organisation for the failed re-election of former President Goodluck Jonathan, said it was unfortunate that Sheriff, who came as national chairman to move the party forward, was issuing threats to members from the take-off of his assignment.
According to him, “I think this is unacceptable and nobody is intimidated. The fact of the matter is that he wants to set Nigeria on fire, he also wants to set PDP on fire and that fire is going to consume him and him alone.”
Credit: Tribune (Nigeria)
