From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) basks in the euphoria of the Supreme Court judgment that validated the sack of the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff led National Working Committee (NWC), some leaders of the party have expressed concern over the olive branch extended to the sacked national chairman and his group.
Their fear is that Sheriff might use some party members loyal to him to trigger off another round of crisis, especially as he has seemingly rejected the olive branch.
Spokesman of the sacked NWC, Hon Bernard Mikko, had in a statement in Abuja on Friday said that they didn’t do anything unlawful in the first instance for anybody to be talking of giving them “amnesty”.
Recall that the Sheriff group in its immediate reaction to Supreme Court judgment that affirmed his sack, noted it would come up a definite plan, when they may have received a copy of the Supreme Court judgment.
Consequently, some PDP chieftain said efforts must be made to woo Sheriff loyalists back into the fold, so that he does not use them to do more damage to the party, especially at the state levels.
Former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe told Sunday Sun in a telephone interview yesterday that what is important at the moment is reconciliation of all members of the party.
He said a hand of fellowship must be extended to Sheriff and his supporters, expressing hope that the former chairman will accept the olive branch.
Reacting to Sheriff’s seeming rejection of the olive branch from the party, the former Minister said the most important people in the peace efforts are the party members still with Sheriff.
Adeseye said the former PDP chairman did not bring any member into the party, so he should not be allowed to go with any member in the event that he is leaving the party.
“Sheriff did not bring any member into the party. It is the members we should be appealing to. They are the most important people in reconciliation moves. They must be brought back into the fold,” Adeyeye said.
When contacted, a leader of the party from South West and former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, said he cannot say now, until after a meeting of party leaders in Abuja next week.
Babatope said although he didn’t like the kind of politics the sacked national chairman played, calls by Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose for sanctions against Sheriff and his men for their role in the party crisis, was the governor’s personal opinion. ‘
But a leader of the party in Nasarawa State and former deputy governor of the state, Senator Solomon Ewuga told Sunday Sun that there is no cause for alarm, as it is left for the Sheriff group to either ship in or ship out.
He said the former Borno State governor is not even a member of the party at the moment, going by the apex court’s declaration that he does not even have the PDP membership card.
“They (Sheriff’s loyalists) are either In PDP or they are not. For Sheriff, let him be a member of the party first. He is not even a member of the party at the moment. Didn’t you hear, when the Supreme Court said he does not even have a membership card. You cannot say you are a party member, when you do not have a membership card”, Ewuga stated.
However, one of Sheriff’s loyalists in Imo State, Chief Regis Uwakwe told Sunday Sun in a telephone interview that supporters of the former national chairman in the state will be guided by the political dynamics in Imo in deciding the next course of action.
Nevertheless, he said a majority are still disposed to remaining in the PDP.
Uwakwe, who is a former zonal auditor and acting publicity secretary in the South East said,” more than 90 per cent of the people with Sheriff in Imo PDP are willing to remain in the party.
“ Most of our leaders are still shocked by the Supreme Court judgment, but I believe that in the days ahead they will come to terms with the reality. “
Sunday Sun reliably gathered that members of the Sheriff group in Imo State led by Senator Hope Uzodimma met at the residence of the former governor of the state, Ikedi Ohakim, in Asokoro, Abuja on Thursday night to appraise the current development in the PDP, with a view to take a decision on the best way forward for them.
Imo State was one of the states where the PDP was torn between Sheriff and the caretaker committee headed by Senator Ahmed Makarfi while the crisis lasted.
However, the identity of those who attended the meeting could not be ascertained as at press time.
Meanwhile, the national leadership of the PDP has convened an expanded National Caucus, Board of Trustees(BoT), and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings.
While the expanded national caucus will meet tomorrow, the other two will meet on Tuesday.
All the meetings would hold at the party’s national secretariat, Wadata House.
Those expected at the meetings include former presidents, former vice presidents, PDP governors, former PDP ministers, all former national officers of the party.
The meeting, Sunday Sun gathered, will take a holistic view of recent developments in the party and chart a way forward, including what will be the fate of members of the Sheriff group.
Efforts to reach Sheriff’s deputy, Cairo Ojougboh and the spokesman of the sacked NWC, Mikko for comments failed as they did not respond to our calls.
These developments are coming on the heels of heightened expectations of a growing optimism among the generality of the party faithful to put up a stellar performance in the 2019 general elections. Already, the caretaker committee has zoned the presidential slot to the north in an apparent bid to stonewall the ruling All Progressives Congress, there while reaping bountifully in the south where it enjoys immense goodwill and popularity. The battle for the presidential ticket of the party which is simmering underneath will begin to take form after the proposed October convention of the party, Sunday Sun learnt at the weekend.