PDP crisis: Makarfi, Sheriff ask each other to exit party

The leadership tussle in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) between Senators Ahmed Makarfi and Ali Modu Sheriff led camps deepened as both sides have asked each other to exit the party.

Sheriff’s deputy national chairman, Dr Cairo Ojougboh, told the Makarfi-led group to quietly leave the party to allow for its rebuilding, instead of resorting to blackmail.

He stated this while reacting to a recent media interview by Sen. Makarfi where he accused Sheriff of planning a one Party State and claiming victory in the pending case at the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Court.

But in a retort, the Makarfi-led party, described Sheriff’s camp as a source of distraction, nuisance and irritation for the party at very critical times.

Spokesman of the Makarfi camp, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, who questioned the PDP membership of the Sheriff group, citing what he called their gloating over the open robbery of their party in Edo, Ondo and now Rivers, added that Nigerians can now make up their minds whether Sheriff and company really belong to PDP.

Earlier, Ojougboh, while upbraiding Makarfi over his interview said “We have consistently told the world that the problem of PDP is Senator Makarfi. He pleaded with Sen. Sheriff that both should continue in office till 2017 and work together into the Convention. Mr. Chairman told him that he has legitimate mandate till 2017 while Makarfi has none.”

While he added that Makarfi alluded to those statements in his interview, Ojuogboh added.

“We aver correctly that Sen. Modu Sheriff proposed everything humanly possible to achieve peace including relinquishing his mandate but the people infested with impunity will not allow PDP to have peace.”