…Says incumbent chair can retain office

From  Taiwo Amodu, Abuja

The rift between the embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and a statutory organ of the party, the Board of Trustees (BoT) has finally been resolved ahead of its national convention scheduled for Port Harcourt on Saturday.
Some members of the BoT led by former Information Minister, Prof. Jerry Gana, under the aegis of Concerned PDP Stakeholders, had opposed a fresh mandate for Sheriff and vowed to conduct a parallel convention.
But reason prevailed yesterday when, at the end of the BoT meeting, at the party national secretariat, the BoT members agreed that the former Borno State governor could seek a fresh mandate.
Sheriff had since been adopted as a sole candidate at the North-east zonal congress held in Taraba at the weekend.
Part of the agreement reached at yesterday’s meeting was the suspension of the controversial amendment of the party constitution while Sheriff would also vacate the exalted office at a mid-term convention in 2018 for a southern candidate to emerge. The party National Executive Committee (NEC) had since adopted the report of the Senator Ike Ekweremadu committee which  zoned the party presidential ticket for 2019 to the North.
The BoT meeting also resolved to review congresses in state chapters where it had generated controversies.
An elated Sheriff told newsmen that he was satisfied with the outcome of the meeting and promised to step down the proposed constitution and look into disputed congresses.
“As a result of the meeting, it was agreed that we step down the issue of the constitution. I was not a party chairman when the constitution committee was set up. So, I have nothing to do with it. But I will take all the responsibility to have it resolved…These agreements will be kept and all errors will be corrected before the convention. I think we will have one united family before the convention.”
On the disputed congresses, he said: “So many decisions were taken as a result of the dissatisfaction with the outcome of some of the congresses in some of the states. Various meetings have been called in order to proffer a lasting solution to the party’s problems. Party is dynamic. Nothing is sacrosanct about party. It is the views of the people that matter.”
The BoT  also elected former Ambassador to Canada, Ojo Madueke as its  national chairman while Senator Walid Jubrin retained his office as national secretary.
Madueke assured the party faithful that Senator Sheriff would not renege on the agreement reached that he (Sheriff) vacates office in 2018 for a mid-term convention to enable the south produce a national chairman.
The BoT secretary, Senator Jubrin said the organ of the party would remain faithful to the party constitution.