• Apologises to party stakeholders as Birmah says reconciliation is doomed

From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

Nati onal Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff has declared that battle for 2019 general elections has begun.

He told party faithful at a press conference in Jalingo, Taraba State yesterday, that they could no longer afford to remain divided if the desired goal was to be achieved.

“Under our leadership and the support and encouragement of stakeholders and supporters, PDP will definitely bounce back in 2019.’’

He also apologised to aggrieved stakeholders of the party over statements credited to him by personal aides and associates. Sheriff, said: “As a well cultured and astute politician, I would never make any comment that would

ridicule the party,” and added that it was not in his character to join issues with highly respected

elders of the party. He noted that he never authorized any of his aides

or political associates to react to issues raised by aggrieved elders of the party.

Sheriff said the aggrieved members of the party reserved the right to complain about issues affecting the party which they considered inimical to the progress of the PDP He urged any aggrieved member to bury the hatchet and join hands with the present leadership to rebuild the party and restore the confidence of Nigerians in it.

Meanwhile, former education minister and chieftain of the party, Alhaji Dauda Birmah said in

Abuja, yesterday, that the current re-organisation of the party will fail.

In a chat with Daily Sun, Birmah said re-organisation of PDP would fail because the party had exchanged its ‘gold for a monkey’ at the market.

He attributed the crisis rocking the party to the removal of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as the chairman of the party and added, “they had gone to the market and exchanged their gold with a monkey and I do not want to be part of that.

“So, basically, the milestone of my falling apart with PDP was when Bamanga Tukur was removed as the national chairman. “They did not want him to continue because his stance was contrary to the characteristic stance of the PDP as they always wanted three or four people sitting in a smokefilled room to decide what people should ordinarily decide in conventions or primaries.

“That was the point I parted company spiritually with the PDP.”