Hope fades for Sheriff as BoT endorses Makarfi

The board of trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has endorsed the caretaker committee of Ahmed Makarfi.

The BoT, which comprises some members of the faction, which held a parallel convention in Abuja on Saturday, said it would “convince” Ali Modu Sheriff, former chairman of the party, to support the new leadership.

Sheriff had fallen out with the leadership of the party in Port Harcourt on Saturday after realising that his bid to stay in office till 2018 was heading for the rocks.

He had announced the suspension of the PDP convention, asking delegates to leave for their various states, but Uche Secondus, deputy national chairman of the party, stepped in and the exercise went on as scheduled.

The convention not only inaugurated the caretaker committee, but also dissolved the national executive committee led by Sheriff, and the national working committee.

The caretaker committee was given three months to steer the affairs of the party, and conduct election before leaving.

This had annoyed Sheriff, who sought legal redress.

However, at the end of an emergency meeting in Abuja on Thursday, Ojo Maduekwe, secretary of the BoT of the main opposition party, said the two factions have agreed to work together and support the decisions reached at the Port Harcourt convention

Maduekwe disclosed this while addressing reporters on the resolutions of the board’s expanded meeting with various organs and groups in the PDP.

“We agreed that the national caretaker committee led by Markafi should involve members of the Concern PDP Stakeholders group for effective integration of all points of views and indices,” Maduekwe said.

“The BOT at the expanded meeting decided to immediately engage all groups, party leaders and members involved in whatever disputes towards a just, lasting and amicable resolutions.

“The BOT will therefore preside over the processes of major reconciliations in our party as part of its leadership responsibility.

“A committee has also been set up to meet with Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff in the spirit of working together and resolving outstanding issues.”

Maduekwe added that the meeting equally resolved that all matters that were in courts be withdrawn for the party to apply internal mechanisms towards resolving them.

He said that the advice was based on the party’s extant regulations that no matter should go to court without exhausting internal mechanisms.

Jubrin Walid, chairman of BOT, also spoke about the meeting. He said decisions were reached by all organs of the party represented at the gathering.

The headquarters of the party has been taken over by the police as a result of the internal crisis.