Former ministers who served during the administration of the Peoples Democratic Party have rejected the alleged moves by the party’s National Chairman, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, to elongate his tenure beyond May 21, saying they are ready to work with anybody but Sheriff.
The ministers, who served between 1999 and 2015 and who have scheduled a meeting for Thursday, said the meeting would be used to discuss happenings in the party and how to move it forward.
This is as indications emerged that there was noticeable split within the ranks of the governors of the party over the alleged bid of the former Borno State Governor to continue in office after his three-month tenure ends in May.
Also, a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Bode George, has warned Sheriff to abide by the party rules by stepping down on May 21.
The Secretary of the Ex-Ministers Forum, who is also a former Minister of National Planning, Dr. Abubakar Suleiman, told our correspondent on Saturday in Abuja that it would be “suicidal” for the party to have Sheriff as its national chairman.
“We are ready to work with anyone else apart from Sheriff. We don’t care where the next chairman should come from but it must not be Sheriff,” he said.
Investigations by one of our correspondents in Abuja on Saturday indicated that the majority of the governors believed that Sheriff should not contest the May 21 chairmanship election at the party’s national convention scheduled for Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
But it was gathered that those who imposed him on the party even though he was rejected by the majority of the party’s caucus were surprised at the level of his rejection again.
One of the governors said he and his colleagues, who begged members of the Board of Trustees and the National Caucus to accept Sheriff with a promise that he would leave office after three months, didn’t know how to go back to them again.
He said he was surprised that some governors, because of pecuniary gains, were bent on destroying the party by insisting that only Sheriff should continue in office.
Meanwhile, George in a statement titled, ‘Our Party at the Crossroads’, which he personally signed, asked Sheriff to go on the stated date.
Saturday PUNCH had reported that Sheriff had intensified efforts to retain his office as the party prepares for its national convention.
George, who insisted that he was not eyeing any position in the party, said the only way the PDP could defeat the All Progressives Congress in 2019 was by getting things right.
He said if the party failed to put its house in order, it would remain in the opposition.
George said, “I want to believe the chairman is an honourable man. He must honour his word to handover to an elected chairman at the National Convention on May 21 this year. This is the only way he will be on the positive side of history.”
George, who is a member of the party’s Board of Trustees, said it was funny that all those who contributed to the party’s defeat in the last elections had all fled the country.
When contacted, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Abdullahi Jalo, said, “Bode George is right. Leaders must be men of integrity whose words should be their bound. Our National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, agreed to serve as interim chairman, organise our convention and step down.
“As far as I know, that position has not changed. I personally was surprised to see a vehicle branded with the portrait of Sherriff around the national secretariat. I don’t know what it was meant for but I wish to join Bode George to advise our chairman to respect the agreement reached at the National Executive Council meeting. Our chairman (Sheriff) turned down an offer made by Ekpo Ekpo, the chairman of state chairmen that a three months extension should be given to him. Sheriff told all of us that the time already given to him was enough.”
However the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin, said he would only comment on the George’s statement when he sees a copy.
He said, “I cannot comment on a document I have not seen or heard about (from the author). When I see it then I may comment. Thank you.”
