Ondo guber; Sheriff’s flag off, a charade, says Makarfi’s PDP faction

The Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee, NCC, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described as charade, the flag off of campaign of Ondo State governorship election by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff on Monday in Akure.

The NCC of the PDP said this Tuesday in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye.

However, the Senator Sheriff’s faction while reacting through one of its members, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, said the opinion of Nigerians was that the PDP should move above the issue of NCC headed by Senator Makarfi.

Ojougbo dubbed the NCC as a distraction to the wellbeing of the party.

Makarfi’s faction equally accused Sheriff and his group of working for the All Progressives Congress (APC), pointing out that they have devoted the entire campaign on the attack of Governor Olusegun Mimiko who is the outgoing PDP governor of Ondo State without a word of condemnation of the APC led Federal Government.

The statement reads, “We also wish to ask teeming members of our party and other stakeholders in the Nigerian project to reflect over the so called campaign done by the Modu-Sheriff team in Akure on Monday.

“At the charade called campaign flag-off, not a word of condemnation was uttered by the ‘PDP members’ against the APC government, but rather, abusive words were hurled at Governor Olusegun Mimiko, the Chairman of PDP Governors Forum, whereas, the contestant, the so called PDP members are to wrestle for people’s vote with, is an APC candidate. What an irony!”, it said.

Continuing, the Makarfi’s faction maintained that it remains strong to the ideals of PDP founding fathers, and assured that it would never submit the independence of the party to “those who are struggling to trade away the soul of the party to their masters.”

Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff and his ilk, the statement noted, are known enemies of the party, planted to destabilize it.

It added, “We say clearly that not for once has Modu-Sheriff and his team of confused travellers said a word against the mis-governace of the APC. “We are not surprised because we know it’s suicidal for a servant to criticise the master.

“We wish to state clearly that we can say without fear of contradiction, and as well, challenge Nigerians to point out where, even, for once, those parading themselves as PDP members, have dare to issue a statement condemning any of the several gaffes of the APC government,” it said.

But Dr Cairo Ojougboh, in a statement on behalf of the Sheriff’s camp, stated that his faction received a report from a committee, which he said toured the six geopolitical zones of the country where “the grassroots are of the opinion that they no longer want a cash and carry style administration of the Party as exemplified by the National Caretaker Committee, which is viewed as a faction belonging to the bourgeoisie and not the grassroots.”

Ojougboh however failed to disclose the chairman of the committee or any or its members, or when it was set up.

He said, “Members of the party noted that what is needed in PDP is transparency and not a situation where officials would be bribed for tickets to contest public offices.

“They also express the views that some governors posed destabilizing danger to the existence of the party, by promoting impunity and corruption.

“Governors are advised to mind governance and leave party administration to the party. They should execute party manifestos to enable the party to excel in future elections.

“The issue of governors being financiers of the party should be addressed so that the party will not encourage corruption.

“This is the only way we can institutionalized internal democracy in the party that has eluded the party in the past,” Ojougboh said in the statement.

He stressed further that in as much as reconciliation was being pursued, the general opinion was that the party should discountenance the threat of the Makarfi’s faction forming a new political party.

The former member of House of Representatives said that the Sheriff’s faction agreed to commence a tour of all the 36 states of the federation in the next two weeks, starting with Benue state.