PDP crisis deepens as Makarfi, Sheriff trade words over funding allegations

The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took another twist yesterday as both factions accused each other of alleged financial misdeed.

While the Ahmed Makarfi-led national caretaker committee accused Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction of receiving some jeeps and one million dollars from some All Progressives Congress (APC) governors and ministers, the Sheriff faction alleged that the Makarfi caretaker committee had been receiving a N50 million monthly subvention from governors of the PDP.

Addressing a press conference yesterday in Abuja, spokesman to the Makarfi caretaker committee, Dayo Adeyeye, admitted that PDP governors and other leaders were funding it even as he challenged the Sheriff faction to openly deny having received jeeps and one million dollars from APC governors.

It also alleged that Sheriff had been running away from being served with court service as directed by the Supreme Court.
Adeyeye said: “No matter how little the funding we got from our party leaders, it is better to be funded by our party members than by the All Progressives Congress (APC) as is the case with Senator Sheriff and his cohorts. Dr. Cairo should tell us which APC governor, minister or official bought jeeps for them?

“Governor Ayo Fayose has also made a public allegation that Senator Sheriff has received the $1 million from the APC to organize a new convention. Senator Sheriff is yet to publicly refute the allegation,” he added.

He said that all members had already pledged to sacrifice their political interests for the unity of the PDP.

The caretaker committee also asked the Jerry Gana-led PDP strategy committee to continue its consultations with leaders of the PDP pointing out that Sheriff had become jittery of the rising acceptability of the recommendations of the strategy committee.

Earlier, Sheriff’s deputy, Cairo Ojuogboh, had said that Makarfi was creating more crisis for the PDP because of his ambition to be president as well as the N50 million monthly subvention he gets from PDP governors.

Ojougboh said the Prof Jerry Gana-led Strategy and Inter-party Committee, is illegal.

“The caretaker committee is protesting because they have seen that the table is now crumbling fast under their feet. All the organs of the party are cueing into the reconciliation and when the reconciliation pulls through, they are out and Senator Makarfi can only come as member of the BoT and so the N50 million monthly subvention from governors will stop when reconciliation happens. “Secondly, Makarfi wants a situation where he will tailor-make the convention to suit his interest because he has come out to say that he will be contesting the presidency of the country.

“We are very mindful that we are not going to tie our party around any individual. That is why the national chairman, Sheriff said look, I am going to throw everything open. That is why we are studying the position of the reconciliation committee and that is good enough to advance our party.”