PDP secretariat workers shun meeting with Modu Sheriff

Workers at the national secretariat of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday failed to honour an invitation for a meeting by the Ali Modu Sheriff group.

The peace meeting, earlier scheduled for 10:00 a.m., was later shifted to noon in anticipation that the workers would be present but none of them turned up as at 2.30 p.m.

However, when officials of the faction were seated, journalists were taken aback when the Deputy National Chairman of the Sheriff group, Cairo Ojuogboh, announced that it was a press conference and not a peace meeting as earlier reported.

When asked why the meeting was called off, Ojuogboh claimed that members of staff of the secretariat were still on Christmas holidays, adding that another meeting would be called at a later date.

“They are yet to return from holidays. We will meet with them later when they return”, he said.In a twist of event, as of the time Ojuogboh was addressing the press conference, 54 members of staff of the party were meeting at the temporary secretariat of the Ahmed Makarfi group at Wuse 2.

The workers had last week protested the continued closure of the party’s national secretariat by security agents since June last year.According to them, they shunned the meeting on the grounds that Sheriff must insist on reopening of the secretariat as well as constructively criticise the activities of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ojuogboh also stated that the party would not appeal the Court of Appeal verdict in Port Harcourt.“The court is set to give its verdict on the legitimacy of the Makarfi-led national caretaker committee soon or otherwise.

“We are open to dialogue as we await a landmark judgment that will decide the fate of democracy.“We have agreed not to go to Supreme Court after the Appeal Court judgment no matter which side it may favour,” Ojuogboh affirmed.