•Battle for PDP gets messier

• ‘Sheriff can’t say he won’t step down and expect Makarfi to step down

By Omoniyi Salaudeen and

Onyedika Agbedo

FROM every indication, the contending factions of Nigeria’s major opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are heading for the final showdown in their battle for the soul of the party. Since the February 17 Appeal Court judgment which recognised Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the authentic national chairman of the party, there has been no love lost between Sheriff’s faction and the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee of the party. Both camps have stuck to their guns and moves to find a political rather than legal solution to the crisis have been so far rebuffed. 

  The latest peace initiative started last Tuesday when the PDP Governors’ Forum held a meeting with former president Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja, where they resolved to pursue a political solution to the crisis. Chairman of the forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, who spoke after the meeting, said the meeting was at the instance of the former president. He explained further: “He, Jonathan, is genuinely concerned about what is going on in the party, and he thought that an interactive session with the governors will go a long way to dousing tension. We know that there are so many matters before the court but we believe that a political solution will go a long way to solve this matter. If we believe in this party, we will all be willing and ready to pursue a political solution, which at the end of the day every interest will be well represented. That is the position of this meeting,” he said.

  The Governor then called on members and supporters of the party to refrain from making comments that could escalate the leadership crisis. “We want to appeal to everybody to be wary of making statements that could further worsen the situation; we should make complimentary statements that can enhance the party the more,” he added.

  However, sources at the meeting later revealed that at the head of the political solution was Jonathan’s insistence for Makarfi and Sheriff to step down. Reports had it that Jonathan had reasoned that since the leadership of either of the two warring party leaders would not solve the problem, the best solution was for them to step down. It was also learnt that Jonathan had suggested that the governors be left to run the party and put it back to reckoning, meaning that the governors would be left to nominate another chairman, who would emerge at a national convention. Both Makarfi and Sheriff were reportedly informed of the decision.

Meanwhile, the party’s Reconciliation Committee headed by the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, also gave its backing to the resolution of the meeting between former President Jonathan and the Governors’ Forum.  The committee, however, recommended early national convention within the second quarter of 2017 in Abuja, which should be all inclusive, where new national officials of the party will be freely, fairly and transparently elected.

  But in his reaction to the resolution last Thursday, Sheriff vowed to remain as national Chairman of the party until he conducts a convention where new officers would be elected. Sheriff, who spoke through his deputy, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, argued that if the two contestants to the chairmanship position stepped down, it would mean setting up another caretaker committee which would spark off another round of crisis in the opposition party.

  “Our position is that Sheriff should remain the chairman and at the convention, he will hand over. If you say Sheriff and Makarfi should step down and you appoint another person, that will mean setting up another caretaker committee and the problem will start afresh.  I’m telling you our position, which is the position of the law, is that Sheriff will remain chairman and hold a convention.  If you say Sheriff and Makarfi should go, who will chair the convention?” he asked.

  But Makarfi has said he would step down if the various organs of the party wanted him to. “The proposal is much larger than Sheriff and myself, and it came as a result of meeting with our governors. Therefore, it’s erroneous to call it Jonathan’s proposal. It also did not call for halting the appeal except a common ground is found.  The caretaker committee is a product of organs of the party. Therefore, it has no personal agenda. Whatever the organs of the party accept we will be bound by it,” Makarfi said.

Sheriff’s refusal to shift grounds to pave way for the exploration of the present peace move is surprising given his statesmanlike reaction to the Appeal court judgment. “The verdict of the Court of Appeal is victory for all. No loser. Sheriff is not the winner. Makarfi is not the loser. All of us are winners. I want to put the record straight. We are uniting the party. This party will come back to the position of 1999. All the leaders of the party will be consulted and we will come up with a firm roadmap that will lead to a successful convention,” Sheriff had stated recently at a press briefing in Abuja where he reacted to the Appeal Court judgment. However, his current posture is a pointer that the crisis might end up being settled at the Supreme Court. But why is it proving too difficult for the party to arrive at a common ground that would enable it to play the role of opposition effectively?

  Lagos State chairman of the Sheriff faction the party, Segun Adewale, told Sunday Sun that inordinate ambitions of the leaders of the party is at the root of the festering crisis.

  “To be sincere with you, the problem is rooted in the inordinate ambition of our leaders. Some of them have been positioning themselves to be president or vice president. For instance, Fayose revealed recently that a prophet told him that he would one day be president or vice president of the country. That is why he has not been listening to anybody. In pursuit of that ambition, nothing matters to him anymore as far as the party is concerned. There are also many other people who are nursing one political ambition or the other and who have placed their personal interests above the party’s,” Adewale said. 

Adewale, who was the senatorial candidate of the party in Lagos West in the 2015 elections, further said: “There is also the problem of illiteracy and criminality in the party. Bad eggs have taken over the party. Those with modest education and civility are shoved to the background, while the ‘bad’ ones call the shots. Fayose told Sheriff that he wanted to be vice president and that was why they brought Sheriff to be national chairman. Before Sheriff came, the party was in the habit of manipulating congresses and candidates, but Sheriff stopped it. Sheriff organised the congress that brought me to power.”

  He noted that reconciling the party was proving difficult because the Makarfi faction was allegedly romancing with other political parties in the country. “Reconciliation is difficult because the Makarfi faction wants to take the party and negotiate outside. Atiku wants to be president on the platform of the PDP. They are romancing with Atiku, Tinubu, Aregbesola and others for a mega party. So, it’s either they take it and achieve their ambitions or they destroy it. They want to be in charge of PDP to negotiate with APC. They want to be trading with the party. That is the problem with PDP. We thank God that Sheriff came. We are aligning with him because he is changing things,” Adewale alleged. 

  He also accused the state chapter of the party of misappropriating funds meant for the party. “In Lagos for instance, Bode George is the problem of the party in Lagos. He has produced the state chairmen since 1999 but he has been losing elections in the state. He even lost in his polling booth. We are in heavy debt to the tune of about N20 million, but the party has collected hundreds of billions from Abuja. Some of our leaders took money from former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, but we owe up to five years rent on our secretariat. Where did the money come from?” he queried.    

  Against the backdrop of Sheriff’s insistence on remaining in office even when Fayose recently described him as “a general without soldiers in PDP, not to talk of having a battalion”, Adewale said: “The issue is that the law is an ass. It has nothing to do with having many governors or more members. For me in Lagos, I’m ready for reconciliation if they want. But fate is smiling on us. We keep winning. We won at the High Court and the Appeal Court and we will win at the Supreme Court.”

  Former Minister of Transport and one of the arrowheads of the Makarfi faction, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, in his reaction described Sheriff as a “difficult customer” while also accusing him of playing games with the party. “Nobody is very sure about the exact decision reached at the meeting the nine governors held with former president Jonathan. People are just saying they asked them to go and resign. But I knew from the very beginning that Ali Modu Sheriff would never accept that resolution. He is only playing for time and playing games. He doesn’t want to step down; he wants to continue with his programme because he has a diabolical plan for himself and the party. He plans to contest presidency in 2019 on the platform of the party. So, apparently it was a measure that was doomed to fail and it has failed. The resolution for the two leaders to step down cannot be a one-way traffic. Sheriff cannot say he won’t step down and you expect Makarfi to step down. Makarfi did not put himself in that position. He was put there by the convention of the PDP, which is the highest organ of the party. Sheriff is a very difficult customer. I knew from the word go that he would not agree and he has not agreed,” he said.

  Babatope, however, expressed optimism that the party would find a solution to the crisis with time. “We will get out of the crisis because it is not the end to life. We will go ahead and eventually there will be a solution. All I know is that we are playing games with a wrong side. Sheriff belongs to the wrong side. He doesn’t believe in any party cohesion, he doesn’t believe in the party unity. He only wants to call the shots. I know God almighty will solve the matter at His own time,” he added.

  Meanwhile, there were reports in the wake of the Appeal Court judgment that some members of the Makarfi faction approached the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for registration of a new political party called Advanced Peoples Democratic Party (APDP). So far, the faction has neither denied nor confirmed the report, suggesting that if all options of reconciliation fail, they might eventually turn their back on Sheriff and his allies. However, whither PDP goes from now will unfold with time.


APDP, not PDP offspring, party leaders declare

By Chidi Obineche

The protracted plot to float a new political party from the embers of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP may have finally sailed off, Sunday Sun learnt at the weekend. Although it has been touted as Advanced Peoples Democratic Party, APDP, it was however found out that no name has been pinned to it as the promoters are still keeping it close to their chest and weighing “ all options “ for optimum results. The new party, which is billed to be launched in November this year, is progressing steadily with those behind it discreetly canvassing for support in their various states of origin and seeking endorsement from acclaimed leaders across the national spectrum and the two leading political parties. Those believed to be shining lights of the new “movement” include former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Kano State governor and presidential aspirant in the 2015 elections Senator Musa Kwankwaso, former Sokoto State governor, Aliyu Wammakko, and Senator Adamu Aliero.  Also part of the new scheme is a  majority of former governors who served between 1999 – 2007, led by Mr Donald Duke. Intense lobbying and consultations are going on to rein in key members of the National Assembly and the support of some former presidents. While former president Olusegun Obasanjo is positively attuned to the new party, Goodluck Jonathan, Ibrahim Babangida  and Shehu Shagari  have so far not shown any disposition towards  liking the new party. General Abdulsalami Abubakar is however believed to be all for any party that will deepen democracy in Nigeria and actualize the dreams of the people. In a tacit reference to the new development, Obasanjo on September 3, last year emphasized the need for a strong political party outside the APC and PDP. “Today, PDP cannot claim to be a strong party in opposition.  I don’t know if APC can claim at the national level to be a strong party in government, either. Now, that is the misfortune of this country today. That being the case, it must be the concern of all Nigerians that the present democratic dispensation must not be allowed to derail. And for it not to be derailed, we must have a strong political party in government and a strong political party in opposition.” he said.

But even as various prognosis and permutations by the emerging stakeholders are on-going, some political leaders in the PDP are feigning ignorance of the emerging party. Former deputy national chairman of the PDP, Chief Bode George told Sunday Sun that he had no information about the party, preferring to stay put in PDP . He said, “ Let them advance to anywhere. We are not informed about it. We are waiting to sort out our problems in the party. You know, when you lose an election all sorts of things begin to play out. We are not a mushroom party. What is happening now is just a flash in the pan. We’ve learnt our lessons. PDP is the only party that is nationalistic” continuing, he said, “We have done our post mortem. You can’t run away from all the options on the table. It is PDP today.  It may be APDP or ACD the next day. When we get to the bridge, we cross it. We don’t just jump ship like that. I am a retired military general. We weigh options tactically before we take decisions.”

George bemoaned the crises in the party, which he observed had been exacerbated by the recent judgment of the Court of Appeal on it. According to him, “ let justice run like a stream and righteousness like a river that will never go dry. Any shortcut to justice will never work.” He vowed to sit out in the party to await the judgment of the Supreme Court on the matter, but was non- committal on the next line of action if victory at the apex court still swings to the other side.

The national secretary of the caretaker committee (Makarfi faction) Senator Ben Obi equally said the new political party; APDP exists only in name. “I don’t know anything about it. If anything is happening in a group I belong to, I must know.” Further expressing suspicion that the new party may really be flowering without his knowledge, he said “But you can’t stop people from doing what they want to do, anyway.” He enjoined his party men not to panic over the Appeal Court judgment that was unfavourable to them, since all the legal options had not been exhausted.

For Wali Aminu, former minister of external affairs under the Goodluck Jonathan regime, the formation of the new party as an off spring of the PDP is likely not true. “ I’m not interested in it. I have no idea about it. I doubt if it is true.

I am in Kano now and will be returning to Abuja on Sunday (today) Maybe, when I get there I will find out more about the party.

But I know we are tired of dragging this thing (referring to the leadership tussle in the party). Maybe, those behind it also got tired and decided to go for APDP. I don’t know and can’t talk about something I don’t know about.”

However, a PDP chieftain in Lagos State, accused those he described as “political failures” and “ bad losers” as being behind what he called the “renegade party”. He said, “they were the ones who spoilt PDP. They have started again. They put APC in power. People want to see PDP come back.”