Makarfi’s PDP: Nothing but poison can come from Sheriff, we reject his peace move

The Ahmed Makarfi faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the hand of fellowship offered by Ali-Modu Sheriff, describing it as a Greek gift.

Sheriff had urged the faction to work with him to rebuild the party.

But in a communiqué issued at the end of its stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on Monday, the faction said it had filed an appeal at the supreme court to challenge the decision of a lower court which declared Sheriff as the authentic national chairman of the PDP.

The initial venue of the faction’s meeting in Abuja was barricaded by the police, and the Makarfi group was forced to relocate to the Ekiti state government lodge in Abuja.

“That having duly filed both an appeal to the supreme court and an application for injunction pending appeal in the morning of Monday the 20th February 2017, we pass a resounding and unqualified vote of confidence in the leadership of the Sen Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi-led national caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party and pledge  our unalloyed support to it as it pilots the affairs of the party in  this critical transitional period of the party’s life,” the communiqué read.

“To this end, we are not at all deceived by the supposed olive branch being offered by Sen Ali Modu Sheriff, knowing that the only thing that can come from traitors of his ilk is nothing but a poisoned chalice and a Greek gift.

“The meeting reiterates that the party’s constitution stipulates the process of democratically electing officers of the party and therefore emphatically rejects any imposition such as those being illegally paraded as officers of the party by Sen Ali Modu Sheriff.”

The faction accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government of mismanaging the economy and dehumanising Nigerians, and promised to banish hunger from the land if it comes to power in 2019.

The PDP was in control of the central government from 1999 to 2015.

“That in view of the mismanagement of our economy by the APC-led federal government, the decline in investor confidence and massive  capital flight leading to the Nigerian currency being the worst performing on the African continent; the dehumanisation of Nigerians, the abridgement of fundamental human rights, persecution of political  opponents, and the return to the dark days of mindless dictatorship and the reign of fear, all leading to a state of helplessness and  hopelessness; the PDP reaffirms its commitment to return Nigeria in 2019

“A PDP-led federal government will remove hunger in the land and restore confidence in the Nigerian economy.”