Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum on Thursday, June 16, 2016, said that it would not recognize Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as chairman of the party.
The party had commenced series of meetings aimed at resolving the internal crisis that threatens the unity of the party.
One of such talk sessions is that comprising the governors and Board of Trustee members held at the Ondo State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, after supporters of the anti and pro-Ali Modu Sheriff groups besieged the party’s secretariat.
The governors after a meeting on Thursday, June 16, 2016, also explained their withdrew of support for Senator Sheriff at the aborted Port Harcourt convention after giving him the assurance that he had their support.
Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, who was a vocal supporter of Mr Sheriff’s ambition of becoming the party’s substantive chairman, told Channels Television that they were against “anything that will make Sheriff turn such an opportunity into telling us that he wants to become President of Nigeria”.
“After caretaker, we intend to make sure we support you to be substantive chairman and you’re promising people everywhere that they should come and be your vice president, I cant be part of it,” he said.
The Caretaker Committee Chairman, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, also told journalists that the crisis in the party was fueled by forces outside the party.
For a record second time, the gate of the National Secretariat of the PDP was locked down after supporters of the two contending parties to the leadership of the party surrounded the party’s secretariat in Abuja.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Sen. Walid Jubril, after receiving the key, said that the secretariat would remain locked until the issues were resolved.
The decision of the BOT chairman to lock down the national secretariat was not enough to calm the protesters, as angry protesters forced their way into the premises just moments later.