• As ex-minister tasks Sheriff on reconciliation
By Taiwo Amodu and Gyang Bere, Jos
The Peoples Democratic Party is split on the resolution of its Board of Trustees (BoT) that the next convention should hold in Abuja.
Chairman of the BoT, Senator Walid Jubrin, on Tuesday, disclosed its resolutions that the party’s next national convention be held in Abuja rather than Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Before Jibrin’s disclosure, Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike was the national convention chairman.
The BoT equally passed a vote of confidence in the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee, a creation of the national convention held in May, in Port Harcourt.
The party, at its last convention held last month, extended the tenure of Senator Makarfi committee by one year.
But, some stakeholders in the party are not happy with the BoT.
A member of the BoT, Chief Ebenezer Babatope accused Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, former governor of Borno State, of spurning every peace moves to end the party’s leadership crisis.
He said: “The Board of Trustees is the conscience of the party and our decisions were taken after a thorough review of the crisis. What Sheriff is doing is to harm himself the more. They are fighting the elders of the party and by God’s grace, we shall overcome them.”
Another chieftain of the party and Senator, representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Prince Buruji Kashamu, however, faulted the vote of confidence passed on the caretaker committee. He said it was wrong for the BoT to have made a pronouncement on the convention and further declared support for the Senator Makarfi committee, while the leadership tussle was yet to be resolved.
“It is not for nothing that the BoT is made up of the elderly and the experienced leaders who are supposed to be the rallying point for the party whenever there are issues or challenges such as the extant issue.”
He appealed to the BoT and party members to sit back and reflect on “our roles, choices and positions knowing full well that we are making history with whatever role we play, good or bad, honourable or dishonourable- in the extant leadership crisis.”
Also speaking with Daily Sun on phone, former deputy national chairman of the party, Chief Shuaib Oyedokun expressed confidence in the capacity of the reconciliation committee. The reconciliation committee has been empowered to look into all the new developments.”
Meanwhile, Chairman of the party in Plateau State and former minister of Youths and Sport, Damishi Sango has advised Sheriff to shelve his plan of prolonging the crisis in the party and accept the resolution of the BoT on the scheduled national convention.
Sango said: “Plateau is in the mainstream of PDP and does not identify with any faction” as the party was formed and nurtured in the state. He said the internal wrangling in the party will so be resolved. He, however, expressed confidence that the party will win the 2019 general election both in Plateau and at the national level, following what he referred to as “clueless government being run by President Muhammadu Buhari.”
The faction led by former Borno State governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, had since rejected the resolutions of the BoT, as it noted that it fell short of its expectations.