PDP crisis: Sheriff dares Jonathan

. Storms out of reconciliation meeting convened by Ex-President

. Ex-Borno gov’s action a minor setback, says Jonathan,sets up 40-man panel to resolve impasse

The leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) worsened on Thursday as the court recognised National Chairman of the party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, stormed out of the reconciliation meeting convened by the immediate past President of the country, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

The well-attended stakeholders’ meeting took place at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.

The action of Senator Sheriff and other members of his national executive committee, which came as a rude surprise to most of the stakeholders in attendance, was seen as a major set back by Dr. Jonathan to proffer solution to the crisis within the opposition party.

Notwithstanding the action of the National Chairman of the party, the former President succeeded in setting up a 40-man committee comprising state governors and other party leaders to find a lasting solution to the party crisis.

Jonathan explained that he would personally be the chairman of the committee if he is available, stressing that in his absence, former Vice President, Architect Namadi Sambo, or the former Senate President, will lead the committee. The committee is expected to submit its report in two weeks.

Jonathan had summoned a meeting of party stakeholders at Shehu Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja in a bid to find a lasting solution to lingering crisis in the party.

The whole drama began shortly after the stakeholders’ meeting went into a close door session.

Senator Sheriff, who was accompanied by his loyalists and other members of his national executive committee, stormed out of the meeting in protest against the refusal of party members to allow him address the gathering solely as chairman of the party.

The National Chairman of the PDP, who arrived the venue of the meeting some minutes after the former president had arrived, it was learnt, had at the close door meeting, insisted that as the legally recognised chairman of the party, he should be the only person to address the meeting.

Both Sheriff and Senator Ahmed Makarfi were listed to give goodwill messages alongside the chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Walid Jibrin.

While speaking with journalists after storming out of the closed door meeting, Sheriff pointed out that he will abide by the recommendations of the Governor Seriake Dickson-led reconciliation committee which has proposed a national convention.

His words: “We are here for PDP stakeholders meeting and the PDP has only one national chairman, which is Ali Modu-Sheriff. There is no PDP meeting that will take place under whatever arrangement that I will not open the session as national chairman. Today, I’m the most senior member of this party.

“I think Governor Dickson made a proposal for reconciliation. And we have accepted. Some people want to deviate from this programme, to bring agenda which was not part of it. And as national chairman of the party, what I have told you people in my office when Dickson brought the report is the only thing that we have agreed at this moment.
And I will not be party for anybody using me to do another programme. I’m not going to be part of it.”
Responding to a question that his walk-out smacks of disrespect for the former President, he said: “Well, I respect him but calling for the meeting. He was a former President but as of today, I’m the most senior member of the party. Therefore if I respect him, the respect must be reciprocated.

“You can’t call me for a meeting of PDP and say I cannot address the meeting as national chairman of the party”.
When asked what he considered as the way forward for the PDP, Sheriff said:

“As the National Chairman, we move on. We have a programme initiated by Dickson. And we are continuing with that. Anything outside that I’m not a party to it.”

Dr. Jonathan, while addressing journalists after a close door session, described Sheriff’s walk out as a minor setback which will be resolved after the committee submits it report in two weeks’ time.

In his breakdown of the committee setup, he said: “The committee will be chaired by any of us but we will consult widely. I may chair the committee or if I’m not there, former Vice President Namadi Sambo or Senator David Mark may chair that committee. But if I’m around, I will chair the committee.

.The BoT will select six people, one per geopolitical zone; Each of the blocks will bring six persons, one per geopolitical zone; All our governors will be members; Deputy Senate President, Senate Minority Leader; Minority Leader, House of Representatives and Minority Whip; two former governors from both groups, one from the North, one from South; two former ministers, one from the North, one from South; two women, one from the North, one from the South and two young youths.

“Within two weeks, they will come up with strong recommendations. And a smaller group larger than that committee will meet”, he explained.

He added: “By the time we came back, those minor areas that caused what we saw in the earlier part of the meeting will not be there again because all those issues must have been smoothen out. We regret that little situation we encountered”.

Earlier in his opening remark, Jonathan warned that if the crisis persists, the party might lose the forthcoming governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states.

He also asked party members to shelve personal ambition and make sacrifices for the party, adding that if the PDP is weakened, it will become difficult to win elections on its platform.

The former President said: “I charge our great party leaders to make personal and general sacrifices to ensure the quick resolution of the problems in our party. The PDP is a symbol of democracy. If you believe in the PDP, there is no sacrifice too big for you to make.

“As politicians, with the zeal to lead our people, we must aspire to higher offices or identify the people we believe have leadership qualities and encourage them to aspire to those positions. But one thing is very clear: You cannot, as the polity is configured today, be elected into a higher office on the platform of a weak party.

“We must all, therefore, work to rebuild the PDP and strengthen the party in line with the vision of our founding fathers, and the mission to continue to provide for the good of the people of our great country, valuable leadership in a stable democracy rooted in the rule of law.

“We have to remind ourselves that the prolongation of the crisis in our party may have cost us so much in election fortunes, in recent time. The loss of Edo and Ondo gubernatorial elections is still fresh in our memory. It goes without saying that we cannot afford to have a repeat of that in the forthcoming elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states.

“It is high time we buried the hatchet, suppressed our ego and prepared to make sacrifices in the interest of our party and, in deed the country.

“Our ambitions therefore must come second, otherwise we will only be building castles on quick sand. We must realise that as they say, everybody is nobody without a platform. So, why destroy the platform?

“I urge our teeming members to remain steadfast and continue to believe in the PDP. As I said earlier, it is true that we suffered a setback in 2015, but the fact remains that the PDP is still the largest party in our dear country.

“There is no doubt that the PDP will emerge from this moment of trial to regain its position as the greatest party on our continent”.

The Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Sen Walid Jibrin, said party members must be ready to do away with selfish ambition and forgive and forget the grievances of the past.

Jibrin, who expressed hope that the meeting will bring lasting solution to the crisis, however charged members not to abandon PDP.

While giving the vote of thanks, Deputy Senate president, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, stated that he was happy that Jonathan is trying to help resolve the crisis rocking the party.

Ekweremadu noted that while the party is strong at the grassroots level, it is unfortunate that they have not been able to fix their problems at the national level.

At the meeting were Governors Nyesom Wike (Rivers); Ayo Fayose (Ekiti); Darius Ishaku (Taraba); and deputy governors of Gombe, Ebonyi states.

Former members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) including Uche Secondus; Olisa Metuh; Abubakar Mustapha; and Abdullahi Maibasira, among other party leaders were also in attendance.