PDP: We’ll Abide By Supreme Court Ruling, Says Sheriff

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff has said it will respect the outcome of the Supreme Court decision on the leadership tussle in the party whenever it gives its ruling.

Sheriff, who spoke through his deputy, Cairo Ojougboh, yesterday dismissed the group of ex-ministers of the party who last Monday met and declared support for the Senator Ahmed Makarfi’-led National Caretaker Committee (NCC), describing them as an illegal body.

Sheriff said PDP is a law abiding party, and had respected the outcome of the ruling of the High Court in Lagos and Abuja that said they should not hold convention.
He said the new PDP that is evolving is not a party where one man can boast that the party belongs to him.

“The PDP that we are rebuilding is not a PDP where one man can say he owns the party. God, who brought Sheriff does not make mistake and Sheriff is the agent of change from anti party democrats in Nigeria. Without the presence of Sheriff, today, I am sure John Oyegun would not have been the Chairman of APC, but the APC also has learnt that they have to respect the party, that the party is supreme.

“God willing, Sheriff will obey the outcome of the Supreme Court, and we do know that we will always obey the rule of law, and we urge the Supreme Court not to be swayed by the posture of these persons who ordinarily cannot walk the street,” the chairman said.

Ojougboh said the party’s constitution does not recognise the group called Forum of PDP Former Ministers.
The former ministers had last Monday, while addressing journalists shortly after their closed door meeting, declared their support for the NCC led by Makarfi and challenged President Muhammad Buhari to contest the 2019 election and also passed a vote of confidence on Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee.

However, angered by the vote-of-confidence on Makarfi-led committee, Ojuogboh said: “We want to say first of all that the party’s constitution is very clear, and the organs of the party are specified, from the ward executive committee down to the national convention of the party. On this list, there is nothing like the forum of former ministers.
“We take exception to the comments of this group of persons who met yesterday (last Monday) and called themselves, forum of former ministers.

“We want to say that under normal circumstances, in some countries, these are people who will not normally show themselves in the public. We want to say also that it is very disheartening that persons of these calibre, some of them lawyers, would take impunity to the highest level by declaring that they support Makarfi. Because they are expecting judgment from the Supreme Court, they want to sway the opinion of Supreme Court.”