PDP Crisis: Sheriff Insists Rule Of Law Must Prevail

The disputed National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, has said that the rule of law must prevail for the party’s crisis to be resolved.

Sheriff made the statement when he received some members of PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) Reconciliation Committee, led by Prof. Jerry Gana, in Abuja on Tuesday night.

According to him, the crisis continues to linger because leaders in the party are not alive to their responsibilities and keep perpetuating it.

“I am ready to listen at any time to the committee but for the crisis to be fully resolved, the rule of law must be followed. The moment we want to use one impunity to address another, it will not work.

“If our leaders had taken their responsibilities, we would never have had most of the problems we are facing today.

“When a leader refuses to stand up to his responsibilities, there will be a problem.

“Why am I saying this? Some of our leaders are party to our problems,” Sheriff said.

Briefing newsmen after a closed-door session, Sheriff commended the efforts of the BoT toward reconciling feuding parties and affirmed his availability now that the BoT was now better informed on the crisis.

“All that was discussed today were the problems. They will go back to the BoT that sent them.

“I am sure that in the next meeting, they will come back with recommendations that will bring lasting solutions and peace to the party,” Sheriff said.

Earlier, Gana explained that the purpose of the visit was to find lasting solutions to the crisis and make PDP a viable opposition.

“We are here to find out together how PDP can be solid, firm, cohesive and triumphant.

“This is because Nigerians are waiting for PDP, they are missing the PDP, they are crying and yearning for PDP because the 16 years of democracy cannot be wasted away.

“We are here not as a panel, not as a court, not even as an appeal committee but from the BoT as heirs of the family.

“In a family there must be sometimes problems here and there but there must be re-consolidation. Where there are elders people say things don’t go wrong.

“The purpose of our being here is for this party to be strong again and be reunited,’’ Gana said.

Addressing newsmen, Gana described the meeting as fruitful and said the committee had taken note of the problems causing disaffection within the party.

“We are delighted that there have been clear resolutions on the determination and the desire that the problems be resolved, unity be re-established and for PDP to move forward.”

Gana said although the meeting was successful, there would be another session while the committee would meet on Wednesday for further deliberation on issues that were raised.

NAN

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Ekiti PDP Questions Buhari’s Wife’s ‘US Trip’, Slams APC

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State has described the purported visit of Nigeria's First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari to the United States of America (USA) as a ruse, saying; “Even the Presidency has not told anyone that wife of the President travelled to the USA and in official communications, only ignorant and mischief makers in the APC will believe that a trip to the USA will be made by Mrs Buhari and Nigerians will only get to know about it through online media.”

The PDP, lambasting ignorant APC, added that, “it is only in the world of the APC that wife of the President of Nigeria, the most populous black nation in the world would travel to the USA, ostensibly to debunk her involvement in a major scam and no television station will report her departure and arrival. The question is, did she travel to USA or Qatar?”

Mr Jackson Adebayo, the State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, in a statement issued on behalf of the party, said; “If the Presidency has not been bold enough to tell Nigerians that Mrs Aisha Buhari travelled to the USA on official visit, only a party of scammers like the APC will go on the rooftops to celebrate photoshoped pictures as evidence of visit to USA.”

The party said “it is strange that wife of the President of Nigeria could travel to the USA and purportedly attended events there without international television stations like CNN, Al jazeera, BBC, Sky News etc and local stations like Channels TV, NTA, AIT and others reporting it. Or are they still ‘editing’ the video clips?”

While casting doubt at the purported trip, the PDP said: “Even if Mrs Aisha Buhari actually travelled to the USA, does that erase the fact that in the judgment delivered by the United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, USA, in criminal No 1: 07CR209, that indicted the USA Congressman, Williams Jefferson, it was mentioned that $170,000 was transferred from account in Nigeria in the name of Aisha Buhari to an account in the name of The ANJ Group, LLC, identifying William Jefferson as beneficiary?”

The statement reads further, “As a party of responsible and discerning minds, the PDP in Ekiti State would have elected to ignore the APC and allow the party the freedom to advertise it idiocy. This is more so that the matter is now a subject of litigation and the no one has denied the existence of the judgment that indicted Williams Jefferson and featured conspicuously at page 22, the name of Aisha Buhari as having transferred $170,000 from account in Nigeria to William Jefferson.

“Most importantly, Nigerians have witnessed more heinous forgeries from the APC, one of them being pictorial claim that President Buhari (as APC presidential candidate then) had an interview with Kemi Fadojutimi on ‘All Eyes on Africa’ TV show in London, whereas the interview was held in Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

“However, it is important to point out that from all evidences, the pictures circulated as arrival of President Buhari’s wife at Dulles International Airport, Washington DC could have been taken at the Doha International Airport, Qatar. Even on the official website of George Mason University and US Institute of Peace, USA where the president’s was said to have attended events, there is nothing to show that she attended any event in the two institutions.

“We have seen pictures of Wife of the Senate President, Toyin Saraki with President Barrack Obama’s wife, Michelle. We also saw pictures of Mrs Patience Jonathan with Michelle Obama when she visited the USA.

Where are Aisha Buhari’s pictures with the First Lady of USA and major government officials from the country? Or could she have arrived and departed from the USA like a spirit?”

“It is even more important that nothing official has been said about the purported trip. Not from the President’s spokespersons.”

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PDP Is Gasping For Breath —Obasanjo

His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigeria President,  in a statement, signed by his media aide , Kehinde Akinyemi, and made available to newsmen, denied attending the Peoples Democratic Party , PDP, event at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, Abuja , saying it was an attempt to drag him back to the party he had left.

While reacting to a photo news which went viral on social media, where he was alleged to have attended a PDP event held in Abuja, Obasanjo said he had left the party when it was alive and bubbling, and, therefore, he could not have rejoined now when the party was divided, factionalised and gasping for breath.

But, Obasanjo, while reacting to the issue in a statement titled “ Photonews story of Obasanjo “spotted“ at PDP event, declared: “Believe it and believe that your mother is not a woman“, maintained that he was invited by the Commodities Association Stakeholders.

The statement read in part: “His conclusion was that he has told the world that he has quit partisan politics and that is final. Anybody hoping to drag him back will fail like any man feeding mice to a dead cat. “Those who know me, know that I have publicly announced my quitting partisan politics and those who will believe the purported story will believe anybody who tells him that his or her mother is not a woman.

“If I quit a party when it was alive and seemingly united, how could I go back to a now divided, factionalised party gasping for breath?

“To clear the minds of doubting Thomases and those behind the orchestrated news in circulation and particularly those who had been calling to ascertain what actually happened at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua centre is explained below.

“On the invitation of the Commodities Association Stakeholders, His Excellency, was invited to the “Zero Hunger Nigeria” event at the Centre. He arrived at about 10.00am and immediately moved to the meeting.

“The meeting commenced but few minutes into the session, his attention was drawn to the presence of some people walking up to where he was seated. At closer glance, he recognised them to be politicians and they exchanged pleasantries, saying they came to greet him and they walked out again from the meeting. “The former President cracked jokes with them calling them “invaders and gate crashers”,

“The programme ended and immediately he and his entourage headed back to Lagos. He was barely hours in Lagos when he started receiving calls from both far and near, wanting to find out about his presence at a political party programme in Abuja.

“The photo news in circulation, which claimed that he was spotted at a political party event is therefore mischievous, as a responsible journalist ought to have gone further to ascertain his actual destination in and among the number of venues at the centre and not taking photograph of his alighting from his vehicle to read another meaning.

“ Shocking, also, is to note that the picture was actually taken while on his way out of the Centre after the programme he had attended had finished.

“This is the height of irresponsible journalism, which the former President is calling for its investigation and sanction on anybody involved in order to serve as deterrent to others who may want to be used, either by omission or commission, to misinform the public on such sensitive issue”, the statement concluded

Why PDP Chairmanship Slot Was Reserved For South-West Zone – Makarfi

Senator Ahmed Makarfi, the Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) caretaker committee, in his remarks during the inauguration of the convention planning committee of the party in Abuja, defended the decision to reserve the Chairmanship slot for the Southwest zone but explained that it was not intended to short changed anybody.

He said "I recall when we last met here to inaugurate the zoning committee and I mentioned on behalf of the caretaker committee that the convention would be an all-inclusive one and that offices to be contested for would be open to all and sundry, that doesn't mean people cannot come together to zone offices.

"If zoning does not favour you and you still think that you have the best chance of winning, the political landscape is there. It's up to you to campaign across the country to get enough delegates to support you. Zoning doesn't mean you have been excluded, it is meeting of the minds. And it is for every aspirant to assess by himself or herself whether he or she has the capacity to garner more support than.

"Collection of people that come together to have a common position. So, I don't want people to have the impression that they have been excluded from the process. After all democracy is about minority will have their say, majority will have their way. But in PDP, we have the culture of coming together to be one family so that both minority and majority work together for the good of the PDP."

Meanwhile, the gentleman agreement to reserve the Chairmanship position to the South west zone had been violated.
One of the aspirants, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, who had disagreed with the zoning was the first to pick his form at the PDP national secretariat yesterday.

According to him, the zoning was not legally binding on any aspirants.

Recall that a former deputy national chairman of the PDP, Chief Bode George, yesterday picked his form to contest the Chairmanship position.

In an interview shortly after he collected his form, George said his main agenda was to stabilise the party.

He said "It takes an experienced captain to stabilise a ship hit by tornado. And if you know the crisis in PDP, that is the position the party is facing right now. But I am happy that all is not lost, and the condition has been enhanced.

"Zoning has gone extremely well. I have paid my dues in this party and I should not be afraid of anybody. Since 1999, I never left the party to anyone. I met crisis and problem, I have been able to resolve that. I have risen meritoriously from Vice Chairman South West to Deputy Chairman South and Deputy Chairman overall. I have been able to resolve problems.

He added:"If people vote for me, I look forward to stabilise the party and put it in right position. The ruling party should get ready for serious engagement because we have started a cohesive battle ahead 2019.

"So this job requires commitment, determination; it requires justice and fairness. They know me, they know me for that in the secretariat here.

"Trying to come back it is like looking back, we are lucky we got a bloody nose not a technical knockout; we will rise again.

"Everybody will have to come on board even those of our friends who were angry and left for APC they are tenants there because they were landlords in PDP. If we are lucky and we get the right leadership who is fair and just and committed in the party, they will come back."

The party had earlier announced the nomination fees for the various positions available for contest.

The sum of One million naira is to be charged for the position of chairman while N500, 000 will be charged for deputy chairmanship position and national secretary.

Other positions would attract a nomination fee of N300,000.

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I Can Stabilise PDP If…- Bode George

Chief Bode George, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), after collecting PDP chairmanship nomination form for N1 million at the party’s temporary secretariat, has said he can stabilise the party if voted to become chairman. He made the remark in Abuja. He said, ''if people vote for me, I look forward to stabilise the party and put it in right position.

"The ruling party should get ready for serious engagement because we have started a cohesive battle ahead of 2019'', George said. According to him, PDP is not down and out. It will rise again. With the right leadership, defectors will sheathe their swords and return. He said although the PDP was undergoing turmoil, he would stabilise it as he said was known for his ability to resolve problems, if he becomes the chairman.

''It takes an experienced captain to stabilise a ship hit by tornado and if you know the crisis in PDP, that is the position the party is facing right now.

''I am happy that all is not lost, and the condition has been enhanced, zoning has gone extremely well. I have paid my dues in this party and I shouldn't be afraid of anybody. ''This job requires commitment, determination; it requires justice and fairness. They know me, what we cannot defend we cannot go for.

''Trying to come back is like looking back, we are lucky we got a bloody nose not a technical knockout; we will rise again.

''Everybody will have to come on board even those of our friends who were angry and left for the APC; they are tenants there because they were landlords in PDP.

''If we are lucky and we get the right leadership who is fair and just and committed in the party, they will come back’’, he contended.

The convention is billed to hold on Aug. 17 in Port Harcourt.

Southern Nigeria PDP Zones National Chairmanship To South West

The position of the National Chairmanship of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was on Thursday night formally zoned to the South-West geopolitical zone by PDP Southern Leaders.

In a meeting attended by Governors, National Assembly Members and Former Ministers, the Southern Nigeria PDP also zoned the positions of National Treasurer and Deputy National Publicity Secretary to the South West.

The party zoned the position of First Deputy National Chairman to the South-South. The South-South also got the positions of National Legal Adviser, Deputy National Women Leader and Deputy National Auditor.

The South-East got the following positions: National Organising Secretary, National Youth Leader and Deputy National Financial Secretary.

Addressing journalists at the end of the meeting, Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu said despite the zoning of the positions, any party member willing to contest any position was free.

He, however, advised party members from the Southern Nigeria to respect the zoning formula.

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