PDP crisis: I never accepted Sheriff as party’s National Chairman – Makarfi

MARCH 8TH,2017

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Caretaker Committee Chairman, Ahmed Makarfi has described claims that he endorsed Ali Modu Sheriff as National Chairman and agreed to the proposed June 30 convention as false.

Makarfi made the remark while reacting to the recommendations of the party’s Reconciliation committee headed by Governor Seriake Dickson.

Dickson-led committee which had on Tuesday submitted its technical report to Sheriff had recommended that the party holds its national convention on June 30.

According to the committee, its recommendations were made after consulting all stakeholders, including the Makarfi’s faction.

In a statement he signed, Makarfi said Dickson’s claim that he and other stakeholders of the party accepted the proposal was false.

Admitting that he met with Dickson to discuss the content of the recommendation, Sheriff maintained that he never accepted Sheriff as the national chairman of the party.

The statements said: “This is to debunk a report presented by Governor Seriake Dickson that I accepted Ali Modu Sheriff as the national chairman of the PDP and the convention scheduled for June 30.

“I am shocked and disappointed that the governor of Bayelsa State made a public presentation of a purported report approved or endorsed by us and other stakeholders as reported.

“He met and I pointed out the problems with his proposals. I specifically told him that it (the proposal) would go against even the Court of Appeal judgment.

“At the end (of the meeting), I told him as the caretaker committee chairman that whatever is approved by the organs of the party that we represent, we will work with. I advised him to revert to his colleagues and other organs. But what we are seeing now is that we endorsed his proposal, which is completely false.

“So, this is coming to debunk the insinuation that we accepted Sheriff as the national chairman to conduct the convention or that we accepted Governor Dickson’s proposals.”