ZONING TEARS PDP APART, SHERIFF ROMANCES GOVERNORS TO STAY ON

 

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is currently on the brink of collapse as Governors on its platform are spoiling for war following plots by its Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff to elongate his leadership of the party, it was learned. 

Governors Nyesom Wike, (Rivers), Ayo Fayose, (Ekiti), Emmanuel Udom, (Akwa Ibom) Dave Umahi, (Ebonyi) and Senator Buruji Kashamu have all lined up behind Sheriff to continue as Chairman of the PDP.

While Governors Seriaki Dickson, (Bayelsa), Okezie Ikpeazu, (Abia), Ifeanyi Okowa, (Delta), Ben Ayade, (Cross River), Darius Ishaku, (Taraba), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, (Enugu), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gomber) are leading the pack insisting that the PDP Chairman must leave in May.

Members of the Party’s National Working Committee, NWC, led by Olisah Metuh are also backing Sheriff while Chief Bode George, is leading the South West PDP against Sheriff’s ambition.

Sources say Sheriff wants to remain Chairman of the PDP so as to be able to emerge the Party’s Presidential Candidate in 2019. He has equally promised one of the Governor’s from the South the Vice Presidential slot.

PDP had zoned the Presidency to the North and Vice President to the South-East ahead of the 2019 elections.

The Governors of the PDP are expected to meet tonight in Abuja in what sources say would be a make or mar meeting as the Party heads to its National Convention in May.

Ahead of its convention, PDP had zoned the position of National Chairman to the North, a move seen by some leaders as the handiwork of Sherriff who wants to perpetuate his grip of the Chairmanship position.

Pointblanknews.com gathered that the original game plan was for the South West to produce the National Chairman of the party but the Zoning Committee, led by Governor Udom, arm-twisted members of the committee to zone the Chairmanship to the North to boost the chances of Sheriff.

The situation has not gone down well with Party leaders who are insisting that Sherriff must be stopped from destroying the PDP with his ambition.

Sources hinted Pointblanknews.com that to swell his camp, Sheriff had lied to the leadership of the PDP and Governors that he is under pressure from General Ibrahim Babangida, Mallam Adamu Ciroma and some Northern leaders to continue to lead the PDP.

Shocked at the decision of Governor Olusegun Mimiko to join those opposing his plot to remain, sources told Pointblanknews.com that the embattled Chairman had invited the Ondo Governor for a meeting. At the meeting, he had told Mimiko that General Babangida and Ciroma are among those insisting he continues as PDP Chairman.

The source who does not want to be named as he is not authorized to speak to the press said as soon as the meeting between Sheriff and Mimiko was over, the Ondo Governor quickly reached out to Babangida and Ciroma and to his shocking, they denied endorsing the former Borno Governor as PDP Chairman.

“They (IBB and Ciroma) told Mimiko they never at any time supported Sherriff. They warned that so long as he remains as Chairman of the PDP, defectors and others who had left PDP won’t return to the party,” the source said.

Sources confirmed to Pointblanknews.com that Sheriff has already entered a deal with the Governors, promising to hand over the Party structures in their states to them should they see him through his plot to continue to lead the PDP.

The Governors would either use the State structures to seek a second term or produce a successor, in what a source described as “continuation of impunity” within the PDP.

The forum of Former Ministers under PDP, led by former Special Duties minister, Saminu Turaki had pro¬posed that Senator Sheriff and other members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) be dis¬qualified. They noted that it would give the party a new beginning.

“In order to give the party a new lease of life, it is imperative that a Clause in the Guidelines for the 2016 National Convention should include a provision barring all those who have served the party especially during the immediate past tenure of the outgoing National Working Committee members from contesting for any office of the party under the new dispensation.”

In deference to the rec¬ommendations of the Sena¬tor Ike Ekweremadu Post Election Review Commit¬tee which recommended that the North should produce the party presidential candidate in 2019, the Forum aligned itself with it , but went further to pro¬pose that the North should equally produce the Senate President and Deputy Speaker.

The Forum further pro¬posed to the Governor Udom Emmanuel Committee that the South should produce the party national chairman in the next month national convention and produce Vice-President, Deputy Senate President and Speaker of House of Representatives, in the event that the erstwhile ruling party wins the 2019 presidential elections.

Other electives offices of the party it urged the Zoning Committee to allot to the South include, the office of deputy national secretary, national treasurer, national legal adviser, national youth leader and national organising secretary.