The powers behind Sheriff, Makarfi
Rather than serving as a galvanizing force to heal the wounds following their defeat in the 2015 general election, the Port Harcourt Appeal Court judgment that favoured Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), against Senator Ahmed Makarfi further polarized the duo. Both are now relentlessly shopping for cotravelers in the protracted battle.
Most people within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and those from outside thought that the Port Harcourt Appeal Court judgment will calm frayed nerves after a protracted and needless legal tussle that began in May, 2016. It however appeared that the judgment only succeeded in opening a fresh chapter of trouble between Sheriff and Makarfi, with each trying to harvest from different parts of the country.
While Makarfi is finding his strength in the fact that most of the PDP governors, members of the Board of Trustees, the party caucuses and ex-ministers of the party are with him, Sheriff on the other hand strongly believes that the powers of the law is heavier than numbers.
Already, the decision of the caretaker committee of the party, headed by Makarfi has ruled out reconciliation as a solution to the crisis rocking the party.
The committee had two days after the Port Harcourt judgment called for a meeting on Monday, February 20 at the International Conference Centre, in Abuja, to map out a new strategy of upturning Sheriff ’s legitimacy as the recognized chairman of the party but were barred by the police. But the group remained defiant and moved to the Ekiti State Governor’s Lodge, where party leaders passed a vote of confidence on Makarfi and pledged to work with him.
From the surface, anyone who saw the prominent party leaders at the event would easily come to a premature conclusion that Sheriff is a lone ranger in the wilderness.
Those at Makarfi’s meeting included governors Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, Nyesom Wike of Rivers; Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, former Governor of Kaduna State Ramalan Yero and former Governor of Kebbi State, Saidu Usman Dakingari.
Also in attendance were former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, former Governor of Kogi State, Idris Wada, former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki, the BoT chairman, Senator Walid Jibrin, among others.
And in a communiqué at the end of the meeting which lasted for several hours, the faction resolved to file an appeal at the Supreme Court to challenge the decision of the Port Harcourt Appeal Court.
However, the spokesman of Sheriff ’s faction of the party, Barrister Bashir Maidugu, described the resolve of those with Makarfi as weak, saying it is not about numerical strength but what the law says.
“In the first place, the police denied the Makarfi faction access to the International Conference Centre because the court said there is nothing like caretaker committee of the PDP. I am sure they wouldn’t have been stopped by the enforcement agency had it been they went there just as an interest group and not a faction of the PDP because there is nothing like that; the law is not ambiguous,” he said.
Maidugu said Nigerians should look at Sheriff ’s strength from the perspective of the law which is very strong.
Also, the PDP in Cross River State has given its support to Sherriff as the national chairman. A statement by the state chairman, Ntufam EdimInok, countered an earlier statement by the state publicity secretary of the party which declared support for the Ahmed Makarfi faction. Inok is the state party chairman recognized by Governor Ben Ayade.
His endorsement of Sheriff from the PDP headquarters in Calabar, was therefore seen to have been carried out with the tacit support of the governor.
Also on Wednesday, Sheriff in an attempt to attract more sympathy while addressing a delegation of South-West PDP who paid him a solidarity visit at his office in Maitama, Abuja said that he would cease to be the party’s chairman after a convention is held.
Apparently touting the caretaker committee and the governors supporting them, Sheriff said, “We have no argument with anybody. The law is certain. Nigerians have spoken. Some of the people you see, they actually don’t know where their villages are. They sit in Abuja and decide to make unnecessary statements.
“In the name of God, let’s re-build this party. Don’t divide the party. Let everybody unite in order to rebuild the party. I beg Fayose to respect the PDP and the people of Nigeria. I beg him,” he said.
At a time, the PDP governors were so powerful that even a sitting president must have to lure them in order to have his way.
However, when the 11 governors of the PDP in this dispensation railroaded Sheriff to become their chairman, barely two years after joining the party, they were not bothered to know that the former Borno State Governor can spend his last kobo to prove a point.
At a time when they turned their backs few days to the botched Port Harcourt convention in May, 2016, Sheriff said he will give them a run for their money because he will never allow them to humiliate him, saying they were the ones who invited him to salvage the PDP.
But after the recent Port Harcourt Appeal Court judgment, Governor Wike said they would continue to fight Sheriff.
Though many PDP stalwarts such as Chief Femi FaniKayode had recently suggested that they should leave the “PDP carcass” to Sheriff, Wike and Governor Fayose had on different occasions ruled out dumping the party because of Sheriff.
“Leaving the PDP is not an option yet. I have hopes that there is no way the Appeal Court judgment that affirmed Sheriff as PDP national chairman can stand. I believe we have a good case against Sheriff,” he said. He also accused the APC of giving Sheriff unflinching support.
Who is Jonathan supporting?
One thing that remained contentious is whether ex-president Goodluck Jonathan is with Sheriff or Makarfi.
On Monday last week, there were stories that Jonathan, who had been silent as far as the PDP matters were concerned, allegedly declared support for Sheriff as the national chairman of the PDP. The former president reportedly spoke after a meeting with Sheriff and some members of his group in Abuja.
It, however, all turned out that journalists only made “interpretative judgment” to say the former president is with Sheriff when they heard Jonathan repeatedly calling the ex-Borno governor “my chairman, my chairman” throughout the meeting.
Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, who is Jonathan’s media aide, later described the claim that his boss endorsed Sheriff as false.
“In deed, it may interest you to know that after meeting with Sheriff, the former President also met with Senator Ahmed Makarfi, leader of the PDP Caretaker Committee and the party’s Board of Trustees chairman, Senator Walid Jubril, later in the evening,” he said.
The forum of the former PDP Ministers, also after a meeting with Jonathan, said they were solidly with Makarfi.
A former Minister of Special Duties, Barrister Kabiru Turaki (SAN), said with a notice of appeal, he was sure that application for injunction had been filed. Ex-ministers who met with Jonathan alongside Turaki included Esther Nenadi, Osita Chidoka, John Odey, Bala Mohammed and Ibrahim Shekarau.
Earlier on Sunday, Sheriff, alongside ex-Niger State governor, Dr. Babangida Aliyu met with former military President Ibrahim Babangida in Minna.“IBB congratulated me and advised me to continue that way so that I can bring everybody back together to make the party a formidable opposition,” Sheriff told reporters after the closed door meeting.
While the two factions are now waiting to test their strength at the Supreme Court, Sheriff has already relocated to the PDP national secretariat in Abuja, popularly known as Wadata Plaza.
He was accompanied by the Acting Deputy National Chairman of the party, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, National Secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo, National Auditor, Alhaji Adeyanju, Senator Buruji Kashamu and former adviser to ex-president Jonathan on political affairs, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, among others.
It is now to be seen how the next chapter of the crisis will play out, at a time Nigerians are yearning for a credible opposition.