Court sacks Ali Modu Sheriff as PDP chairman

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja has sacked Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as acting Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The court in its judgement described the process that produced Sheriff as illegal.

Justice Valentine Ashi in his ruling nullified the 2014 PDP Constitution Amendment upon which Senator Sheriff was appointed PDP Chairman, describing the amendment as illegal and a violation of the Electoral Act.

The court, therefore, declared all actions carried out as a result of the amended Article 47, Rule 6 of the party’s constitution as illegal, restraining all who became national officers of the party by virtue of the said amendment from further parading themselves as officers of the PDP.

The judge further ruled that the nullification of the said amended PDP constitution was done because it was in violation of mandatory provisions of Article 66 (2) and (3) of the party’s constitution.

The amendment which had produced Sheriff to the said leadership position had allegedly zoned the office of the party chairmanship to the North-East, where Sheriff came from.

He took over the chairmanship from Uche Secondus from South-East based on this zoning arrangement.

Sheriff, who took over the leadership of the PDP sometime in February, was a former governor of Borno state.

However, the emergence of Senator Ahmed Makarfi, a former governor of Kaduna State, as the interim national chairman of the party has thrown the party into a leadership conundrum.