Dickson: Makarfi no longer has legal backing to lead PDP… that’s the reality

Seriake Dickson, governor of Bayelsa state, has said Ahmed Makarfi does not have the legal backing to serve as chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said the chairman, caretaker committee of the PDP, “was stripped” of his authority the day a Port Harcourt appeal court declared Ali Modu Sheriff the authentic chairman of the party.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Dickson made the comments on Sunday while speaking with journalists.

He explained that when the idea of making Sheriff chairman was hatched, he initially kicked against it but he accepted him after the court ruled in his favour.

Dickson said politicians must obey the constitution and all instruments of civic rule.

“Whether anybody likes Sheriff’s face or not, the Makarfi-led caretaker committee was stripped of its authority to manage the affairs of the party the day the judgment was delivered,’’ Dickson said.

“When the idea of making Sheriff the National Chairman of our party was hatched, I personally kicked against it. I also turned down all the overtures from Sheriff because I did not believe in him and what he did.

“So now, my position is that we have to move forward. I am a politician of conviction, I am not a politician of convenience and I am not a typical Nigerian politician.

“The Makarfi – led caretaker committee should remember that it was a brain child of the majority of party members including at a convention in Port Harcourt.

“I and up to 80 per cent of the population of the PDP members were for Makarfi but the unfolding events have compelled us to adopt a political resolution instead of embarking on further bickering.

“So the reconciliation committee which I chair met several times to review our position in the light of the Court of Appeal’s judgment. The reality is that Makarfi no longer has the legal backing to carry on with the task of managing the party.

“We are aware of this quagmire, and therefore, the reconciliation committee went ahead to formulate a realistic, practical and strategic response to this reality because in the end it would be to the benefit of PDP.’’

The governor said that Sheriff has always worked for the settlement of the crisis within the party.

“So if you said you are passionate about the survival of the party, then you should be willing to sacrifice your ambition. The crisis has caused us a lot, our elected officials, top notch members are decamping to even lesser parties,” he said.

“The party continues to fail Nigerians because the crisis has so far prevented it from being a sound credible opposition even in the face of bad governance in the country right now.’’

He added that though Makarfi could go ahead to challenge the appeal court judgement at the supreme court, more priority should be placed on making peace.