Ali Modu Sheriff is PDP chairman
• North East fails to endorse single candidate: new leader emerged from balloting
THE National Executive Committee (NEC) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) rose from its 68th meeting yesterday night and approved Ali Modu Sheriff, the former Governor of Borno State, as its National Chairman.
Sheriff’s appointment, which followed a series of intrigues and horse-trading, eventually came to light around 8:00 p.m. when he was invited to take the oath of office.
Although he was initially endorsed by other organs of the party, Sheriff was opposed by some members of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT). But some prominent members of the party, including governors, Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, senators and members of the House of Representatives quickly swung into action to persuade those with divergent views.
Sources close to the NEC of the party disclosed to The Guardian that, after extensive session and when it became obvious that a consensus choice may not emerge, the meeting resorted to balloting.
At the end of the exercise, Sheriff polled 60 votes; Girgiri polled nine votes, while Juta got one vote.
“The exercise was free and fair without rancor. Anyone saying there is division in the party as a result of the choice is not being sincere to himself or the party,” a party chairman from one of the states in the South South said.
In his acceptance speech, Sheriff promised to carry all party members along.
He announced that a new era of party rebuilding had begun in the PDP, pointing out that he would begin the task of leading the party to higher glory.
According to Sheriff, the PDP is sure of winning the 2019 presidential election with him as chairman. He said he would not witch-hunt any of those opposed to his emergence promising that his main task would be to restore peace and unity to the party.
Sheriff entered the premises of the PDP secretariat around 7:30 p.m. dressed in a white flowing gown at a time the NEC meeting was about ending.
The appointment of Sheriff came as a reaction to the latest threat posed by the court case initiated by the former Presidential Political Adviser, Ahmed Gulak, which resulted in his self-declaration as chairman of the party.
In attendance at the NEC meeting, included all PDP governors, except that of Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, former deputy President, Ibrahim Mantu, and BoT acting chairman, Walid Jibrin.
But a large number of the PDP senators from the South East and South South were grumbling yesterday night as it emerged that the PDP was considering Sheriff, the acting chairman of the party.
They have resolved to reject him outright when the caucuses of the two geopolitical zones meet today. Several meetings were on last night to find an alternative to what many have described as a choice that would mark “the final burial rites of the party.”
It was learnt that the senators were particularly miffed that any of the governors on the banner of the party from the North East could even consider the former governor who joined the party just a few months before the last election.
PDP members in the House of Representatives were also said to be gearing up to take a position last night. A senator told journalists yesterday: “We are worried at the news of possible emergence of Senator Modu Sheriff as chairman of the PDP. We are worried that some persons are not thinking of the need to move the party forward.
“We feel there is every need to raise the credibility of the party after the debacle of the last general election. It is not fair that we saddle the party with the burden that the chairmanship of Senator Modu Sheriff would bring to the party at this time.
“We all know the issue that has been around Senator Sheriff. For sometime now, his name has been consistently linked with the Boko Haram issue and we need to allow him to clean his name rather than bother him with the leadership of the PDP at this time.”
“If those pushing for the former senator succeeds, I can tell you that the nation will witness massive defection from the PDP. We in the South East and South South are ready to leave the PDP.”
Earlier, in less than two hours, there were two conflicting positions on the emergence of Sheriff as the new chairman .The first was an announcement to journalists by the National Publicity Secretary of the party , Olisa Metuh.
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2 Comments
Modu Sheriff versus Buhari:- what a prospect. Both have connections to Boko Haram:- the ideologic and the political flagbearers. Uhm uhm.. ONE NIGERIA
My father used to tell me a story – about the recalcitrant child who the gods want to kill. He told me they would first make him deaf on both ears. If that doesn’t facilitate his demise they will make him dumb….
This story came knocking on my mind today when it was announced that Ali Modu Sheriff, the ex-governor of Borno State and alleged Boko Haram sponsor and terrorist sympathiser is the new acting national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). I immediately told myself that this is a befitting Requiem to a once great party that literally lorded it over us for a greater part of two decades. Before we digress, let’s examine our new Chairman’s alleged complicity in the still raging insurgency in Northern Nigeria. This is of course not breaking news! Because we have heard all about it for over a year now!
At the height of President Jonathan’s administration, he publicly voiced his concern that the seat of power had been infiltrated by Boko Haram sponsors. Fingers were pointed directly at our new Chairman Sheriff as an active sponsor, while critics accused Jonathan of scaremongering.
Nigerians have variously came to terms that the Boko Haram insurgency is an illegitimate child of the Northern Elites that they have criminally conceived and surreptitiously delivered since 1979 after demanding for the constitution to include a Sharia law, not only in the Muslim north but for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Ali Modu Sheriff is not new to this advocacy group of Northern Elites or was he a by-stander to the Arewa Consultative Council. It is on record, that Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida another of these Northern leaders foxily and against all regard for the secular structure of the country upgraded Nigeria from Observer status to full-fledged membership of the OIC. The Organization is famed as being the collective voice of the Muslim world. That was another ploy to consolidate their brazenly quest for an Islamic state and a Sharia Law that would guarantee them public amputations and beheading, death by stoning, under-age marriage and child rape. It is therefore not surprising that in Northern Nigeria today, and most awesomely in Borno State where Sheriff was a governor, those apostles of the Sharia doctrine have metamorphosed into the dreaded Boko Haram. They did not drop from the skies, but are sons and daughters of the Northern Elites, only advancing the cause of the caliphate but rather in a barbaric form, the dream of their fathers and grandfathers for the actualisation of their Islamic Republic. They actively tried hard to malign the Presidency of Jonathan and maximised their atrocious bombing of catholic churches and places of worship. Now Jonathan has left office, but the blood of those senseless slaughters of students, women and children have literally entered their eyes and psyches and there is no stopping them. Now that the main opposition party in Nigeria, the PDP have elevated a known Terrorist sympathiser to the exalted chairmanship of the party, he can go ahead and mould the party in his own image. I mean literally.
I have said all along that the PDP have not recovered from their hammering at the last election, but I never thought the confusion and thoughtlessness has reached to this level. It is staggeringly unbelievable. On a deep reflection though, you don’t blame the PDP. This is because shortly after Buhari was declared the President, almost half of the feckless erstwhile leaders of the party defected to APC, thereby leaving suspect characters like Sheriff to fly their thorn and defaced flag. Welcome on board, Chairman. Y6ou can start your tenure with bang! – By changing the name of the party to: Boko Peoples Party of Nigeria. BPPN.
We will review and take appropriate action.