LG polls: Makarfi-led PDP asks candidates to look for alternative platforms

The Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday asked its members in states to look for alternative platforms to participate in pending local government elections.

The vague order came in the midst of confusion ahead of the July 22 local government elections in Lagos State and those in other states. Despite the directive, the Makarfi faction dispelled media reports which suggested that it had directed its candidates for the Lagos council elections to contest on the platform of a newly registered political party. A statement yesterday by the spokesman of the committee, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, alleged that the National Chairman of the party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, and some National Working Committee (NWC) members had defaced the party. Adeyeye said Sheriff had created factional chapters in states in order to sabotage the party’s chances at the poll.

According to him, “The PDP is currently in dispute; we recognise the anxiety of our patriotic and loyal members to avoid a repeat of the Edo and Ondo gubernatorial elections experience.

“Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and his co-travellers tried to scuttle the chances of our members by fielding APC lackeys and surrogates as alternative candidates.

“In the circumstances and with no hope of the Ali Modu Sheriff problem abating before the Supreme Court judgement, we are left with no choice than to consider ways by which our members will not be disenfranchised in these elections.

“State chapters are allowed to take any decision they consider appropriate. However, our position is not to choose a platform for any state where true PDP candidates are denied the opportunity to stand for the elections,” he said.