- All the panicky earthquakes against Sheriff are coming from APC leaders – Uche Secondus
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was last night teetering on the brink of implosion following the threat of mass defections from the party in the wake of Tuesday’s election of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the new National Chairman of the party.
However, Prince Uche Secondus, acting National Chairman of the party, blasted opposition to Sheriff’s emergence saying that the outcry was coming from the earthquakes of panicky leaders in APC. “This is one chairman that is known all over the world. His name sends hope to some people while to some, it sends fears. There is earthquake in the camp of the APC, that is why they have come with all sorts of appellations,” Secondus said.
With former PDP ministers threatening unspecified dire consequences ahead of a meeting today, the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) at the end of a meeting last night, again rejected Sheriff’s choice as the National Chairman, saying he was not a suitable person to lead the party.
The meeting of the BoT, the second in as many weeks, came ahead of Tuesday’s meeting of former ministers who held office on the banner of the party and are spearheading the move to force Sheriff out.
The anti-Sheriff campaign which was initially spearheaded by ministers who served under ex-president Goodluck Jonathan was later expanded to include all former ministers who served PDP presidents from 1999.
Remarkably, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, a former minister who served under the Jonathan administration, frontally accused the former president of fomenting the crisis in the party, saying he lacked the initiative to reposition the party while in office.
Meanwhile, Sheriff also vowed not to resign and denied allegations of being a sponsor of Boko Haram, saying he was rather a victim of the militant Islamist group, threatening to sue one of the former ministers who accused him of being a sponsor of the insurgent group.
Speaking while taking over affairs of the party, Sheriff gave fillip to assertions that the term of the outgoing National Working Committee (NWC) would be extended when he rebuffed questions on whether he would step down next month.
The term of the NWC which he is to head is expected to end on March 21, but insinuations were made that its tenure would be extended to enable it to organise a National Convention to elect a new leadership for the party.
But now, unconfirmed reports said that the move to position Sheriff as National Chairman was part of a plot by a new South-South governor working in cahoots with a colleague from the South-West to return members of the NWC at the next national convention of the party.
“The plan is to cede the presidential ticket to the North and allow a member of the outgoing NWC emerge national chairman and they have simply enrolled Sheriff into the plot,” a former minister said last night.
Rejecting Sheriff at the end of a meeting of the BoT last night presided over by its acting Chairman, Senator Wali Jubrin, the elders said they would offer a viable solution that would end the crisis.
“In a well-attended meeting of the BOT, the board as a conscience of the party is still strongly of the view that Senator Ali Modu Sheriff is not a suitable candidate as chairman of our party. We have resolved to propose a viable solution to this matter,” he said.
Although Senator Jubrin did not explain what the viable solution is, some members of the Board were to meet with members of the party in the National Assembly as well as governors elected on the platform of the PDP.
A notice issued by the Chairman of the strategy committee of the ex-PDP ministers Forum, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode said Tuesday’s meeting would not be limited to only ministers who served under President Jonathan.
His words: “The PDP Ministers Forum, under the able leadership of Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN, former minister of Special Duties, will meet at 11.00am on Tuesday at Nicon Luxury Hotel in Abuja to deliberate on how to move our great party forward in view of recent developments. Contrary to some media reports, membership of the PDP Ministers Forum is not restricted to only Ministers that served between 2011 and 2015 and the meeting that will hold on Tuesday is not just for ministers that served under ex-president Goodluck Jonathan. The meeting is for ALL PDP ministers that are still in the party and that served between 1999 to 2015.”
Blame Jonathan for this crisis — Gbagi
However, Olorogun Gbagi speaking on the crisis in the party said last night that it would be a turning point for the party for good or for bad and faulted Jonathan for the crisis.
“Jonathan is a man that cannot be predicted and he has come out to say that he does not have a hand in it. But people don’t believe him because if he had done what he was supposed to do before he left, the party would not have been in this situation.
“By the time Mu’azu left, if Jonathan had appointed someone from the North-East instead of Secondus, the party would not have been in this situation.”
On expectations ahead of today’s meeting, he said: “If we are not able to resolve (Tuesday) that would be the final nail in the coffin of the PDP.”
I won’t resign, Fani-Kayode will face me in court – Sheriff digs in
APC leaders are spreading panic about Sheriff – Uche Secondus
Meanwhile, Sheriff speaking shortly after he formally took over as Chairman of the party, said he would not succumb to the widespread calls by some members of the party that he should resign his position, noting that doing so would not be in the interest of the party, especially members of the National Executive Committee who drafted him to reposition the party.
Apologizing to those who felt aggrieved by his emergence, Senator Sherrif cautioned that their grievances cannot be solved on the pages of newspapers.
He acknowledged that the time ahead is testy, but promised that he would deploy all resources at his disposal to ensure that all members of the party, especially the founding fathers, are brought back to the fold to make the party great again.
“The time ahead is certainly not going to be easy. We are aware of the high expectations from Nigerians for us to give the party a new focus. Our party is a party that has an avalanche of qualified people who can proffer solutions to our problems. We accepted to serve not because we are the best, but because we have been identified to be capable of doing the task ahead.
“I will carry everybody along. I have come to form a partnership with party men and women. The wrangling that is going on is normal but we will overcome it. I will contact everybody that matters in the party because we have the same goal which is rebuilding the party to its enviable height,” he said.
The PDP chairman said he would consult with the founding fathers of the party with a view to bringing them back to the fold.
Speaking on the persistent allegation that he is a sponsor of the Boko Haram sect, Senator Sheriff pointed out that those accusing him of being a sponsor of Boko Haram are actually the real sponsors because he is a victim of Boko Haram atrocities.
He said he would sue the former spokesman of the Jonathan Campaign organization for calling him a Boko Haram sponsor on national television.
He said: “I was never a sponsor of Boko Haram. Yes, I was governor when the issue of Boko Haram started and I was also part of the people that brought it to an end within five months. Former President Umaru Yar’Adua ordered that the security agencies should ensure that there was no resurgence of the Boko Haram sect. Nobody who is in a position of authority and knows the truth will ever accuse me of being a Boko Haram sponsor. Policemen who were involved in the killing of their leader were charged to court. People like Femi Fani-Kayode who accused me of being a Boko Haram sponsor will not go scot-free this time around.”
Speaking on his plans for the party, Senator Sherrif who said he would unveil his plans after he has been fully briefed by the secretary and treasurer of the party, promised that as a founding member of the All Progressive Congress, he would do the same things they did to make the APC acceptable to Nigerians to make PDP regain power.
Asked whether he would leave at the expiry of the tenure of the outgoing NWC which is next month, Senator Sherrif said the decision was not his to make.
Earlier in his remarks, the erstwhile acting National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus flayed opposition to Sheriff’s emergence saying that the outcry arose from the panic of those in APC.
“This is one chairman that is known all over the world. His name sends hope to some people while to some, it sends fears. There is earthquake in the camp of the APC that is why they have come with all sorts of appellations. This is a man who has been a governor for two terms, he was a senator, he was the chairman of the Board of Trustees of a political party. He has achieved so much in a short time,” he said.
-Vanguard
