Sheriff-led Group Declares Edo Guber Primary Illegal

Asks state chairmen to ignore Makarfi’s committee

Party youths call for truce, fresh convention

Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has declared the Monday’s governorship primary in Edo State illegal and a contraption of an illegal caretaker committee and therefore urged members of the party nationwide, especially in Edo State, to disregard it.

In a letter addressed to the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) signed by the National Chairman and the National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, the party, urged INEC not to give legitimacy to what happened in Edo State, saying the party was going to conduct a proper primary in the state.

Also, in another statement, the party released a scheduled congress in Edo State to start from June 23 -29 with the inauguration of Congress Committee scheduled for Thursday.

In another statement, the national chairman warned the state chairmen and officers of the party to desist from meeting or having anything with the illegal caretaker committee and warned that anybody dealing with them was on his own.
The party announced the appointment of some deputy national officers as members of the National Working Committee (NWC) in acting capacity.

It said it was acting in pursuance to a resignation of five members of NWC and in accordance with the provisions of sections 39(2), 42 (2), 43 (2), 44 (2) and 47 (6) of the Constitution of the party 2012 as amended. The newly appointed officers are:
Mr. Okey Nnadozie – Acting National Organising Secretary; Mr. Alonge-Niyi Dennis –Acting National Youth Leader, Mrs. Hannatu Ullam –Acting National Women Leader and Bashir Maidugu –Acting National Legal Adviser.
It said their appointments are with immediate effect.

Meanwhile, a group, a PDP Youth Like-minds yesterday called for truce between the factional leaders of the party, Sheriff and Ahmed Markafi ,in order to ensure a lasting solution to the present crisis rocking the party.
It also called for a fresh and acceptable convention in order to bring the internal wrangling within the party to a halt.
The National Coordinator of the group who spoke on behalf of 24 other PDP youth groups, Aminu Tukur Gatsa, made the call at a press briefing in Abuja, where he also urged the G-9 founding fathers of the party to come to the rescue of the party and save it from imminent collapse.

According to him, “We have observed that the party that was laboured for by our founding fathers, that’s the G-9, is in shamble now because of the problem that is going on in the PDP now. That is why we met yesterday, the like minds association, up to about 24 associations, and call edthe attention of our founding fathers, the remaining founding fathers of the G-9 to come and rescue the party from collapse.”

Gatsa added: “They should call the warrying factions, the Ali Modu Sheriff faction and the Markafi faction to order in order to solve the crisis rocking the PDP now because they labour for the formation of PDP, they suffered for PDP formation, some of them were jailed in the process during Abacha’s era; now we want them to come back to at least put PDP in order by calling the two factions to bring a lasting solution to the present crisis.”

He streesed that in the process of some people creating relevance in the PDP, they ended up creating problem in place of relevance. noting that: “so, because of all this, we are calling on the remaining founding fathers to come and save the party from collapse.”
The group said the democracy of the country would be jeopardise wuthout a formidable opposition party to keep the ruling oparty on its toe.

“Our hope and prayer is for Sheriff faction and that of Markafi faction to come together and conduct a reliable, acceptable, a formidable convention that can lead election of national officers irrespective of their ethnic, religion or section,” the group said.

The youth groups that are working for the party’s harmonisation include; PDP National Volunteers, Siyasa Akida Network, PDP Youth Mobilisation, Arewa Social Media Forum, PDP Youth Vanguard, PDP Youth Frontiers among others.
The G-9 founding fathers of the party include, Alex Ekwueme, Adamu Ciroma, Abubakar Rimi, Sikas Illah, Sule Lamido, Solomon Lar, Iyorcia Ayu, Jerry Gana and Bola Ige.