‘Sheriff’s acting capacity was never confirmed’

Emma Ogidi, former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta state is currently the national vice chairman of the party in charge of South-South. He spoke on the leadership squabbles insisting that the ousted Interim National Chairman; Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff cannot force himself on the party. He spoke with SUNNY OGEFERE.

Sherriff was not a substantive chairman
You can be sure that Sheriff is behaving as an agent. He does not love the party; anyone that loves the party does not behave like that. He is not the first chairman to be removed in that manner.

He cannot claim to be a chairman, he was just an acting chairman, and he was never the substantive chairman. The national convention was supposed to make him the substantive chairman and that did not happen.

He should not arrogate to himself what he is not. He was never a chairman; he was an acting chairman.

Since he claimed that he has court order, we will follow him squarely on that because he does not want it to be settled politically. We will go to court with him but definitely he cannot force himself on the party,

He is the one who took us to court so we will go back and tell the court that the national convention is bigger than him. The convention has the powers to remove him that is in the provisions of the law of the party

The use of thugs
It is unfortunate that at his level after claiming to love the party, he turns around to be mobilizing thugs against the party. Since when have we begun to settle matters with thugs?

How can a national chairman go to the party’s headquarters with thugs? Even if you have a court judgment, you go back to the court to seek redress, and seek for contempt of court against the party and those involved. If you say that you are law abiding, you go back to the court and not resort to the use of thugs. So it is unfortunate that Sheriff is engaging in this act at his level.

Of course we are going to meet. In fact we are already meeting. On his part, there is nobody he would call that will answer him. He cannot call me; I will not listen to him. Who is he going to call for a meeting, for instance? Whose chairman is he going to call that will listen to him? For example nobody will answer him in the entire South-South region.

Sheriff’s alleged game plan
All the meetings that we held to reconcile everyone, he dodged them saying that he travelled and after we have reconciled the factions, he surfaced to say that he is the chairman.

The truth is that he has his own game plan, so he never wanted reconciliation or peace in the party. The three of them have their game plan … there were other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) they all left. It was an agreement; they all left, then you are now coming back, how? Where are the other members of the NWC? Why are they not with Sheriff?

It is very unfortunate that at his level … you say you are recognizing yourself, how do you recognize yourself. It is the party that will recognize you, not you recognizing yourself as the chairman.

The people of France corrected Charles de Gaulle when he claimed that he is France and France is Charles de Gaulle, they resisted him and told him no, that France is bigger than him. That is the game Sheriff is playing.

Imaging Sheriff saying ‘look at us here, the treasurer, the secretary and myself’. Is that all members of the NWC? Where is the deputy chairman, where is the woman leader, where is the youth leader, where is the legal adviser and others?