Fresh crisis in PDP as Fayose disowns Dickson Committee report, says ‘APC funding Sheriff planned Convention with $1m’, Sheriff replies, says ‘enough of your insults’

Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has reiterated his support for the decision of the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee to appeal the Court of Appeal, Port-Harcourt judgement on the leadership of the party, saying: “There cannot be any meaningful reconciliation with an impossible character like Senator Ali Modu Sheriff who is obviously working for political interests different from that of the PDP.”
The governor said he was aware that well over $1 million had been provided by the APC to fund the convention being planned by the Sheriff group while adequate security will also be provided by security agencies “that are now more like part of the APC. This is being done so as to sustain the party’s plot to turn Nigeria to a one-party state”.
Speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor, who said he was reacting in his capacity as the governor of Ekiti State to the submission of report of the Governor Seriake Dickson-led Reconciliation Committee to Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, said: “All constitutionally recognised organs of the party, including staff of the national secretariat, are with the Markafi-led Caretaker Committee and since political party is about membership, Sheriff will continue to carry with himself the burden of lack of legitimacy.”
The governor, who said he had nothing against Dickson, added: “I respect Governor Dickson, he is my brother and he is entitled to his own personal opinion just as I am entitled to mine. But I must state it categorically that no genuine lover of the PDP will take part in a convention sponsored by the APC.”
Fayose, who said implementation of the Dickson Committee report was beyond Sheriff, noted: “Assuming but not conceding that the report is acceptable, can Sheriff even implement it? Where will he find seven serving governors, seven former ministers, etc?”
Fayose reiterated that no meaningful reconciliation can be done with Sheriff, adding: “With APC calling for support for Sheriff, it should be clear to all genuine lovers of the PDP who are behind the crisis in the party.”
He said: “I am speaking for myself and the entire people of Ekiti State that I represent. We won’t be part of any PDP convention sponsored by the APC and I must state categorically that Sheriff is being sponsored 100 per cent by the APC.
“We, therefore, remain undaunted in our support for the Markafi Committee and its decision to approach the Supreme Court to challenge the Appeal Court, Port-Harcourt judgement.”
Meanwhile, the National Working Committee (NWC) said it had accepted the recommendations in the report of the party’s Reconciliation Committee.
Sheriff said this at a news conference on Thursday in Abuja.
Sheriff said the NWC believed that the recommendations of the committee headed by Dickson, met the requirements for the conduct of national convention and reconciliation procedures.
“We accept the recommendations in totality and we will start working on the implementation,’’ he said.
He added that the recommendation was, however, subject to further approval of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
Dickson had on Tuesday, submitted the report of the recommendation to Sheriff at PDP National Secretariat, Abuja.
Sheriff said that he would commence consultation with all organs of the party in line with the recommendation.
He said that he would contact the organs to get their membership lists so as to draw up the nomination for the national convention planning committee members as proposed by the committee.
He also said that the commission would soon set up state executive for Anambra chapter of the party as part of preparations for the November, 2017 governorship election in the state.
The chairman also disclosed that as part of efforts to reunite the party members, he had contacted all the governors of the party, including Fayose.
“I have contacted all the governors except Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, who is out of the country”.
Sheriff, however, cautioned some party members, especially Fayose, to desist from making derogatory remarks about him.
He said that Fayose had already made it a point of duty to insult his personality on daily basis, but said “I want to tell him that enough is enough.
“Belonging to political party is by choice. Yes, you may have a right, but your right should not trample on another person’s right; political party is a voluntary association.
“If you are a leader of a political party, we have to allow people to have their choice of leadership.’’
Sheriff, who said he had no personal rift with Fayose or any party member, said that all he was doing was to make PDP attractive to everybody.
“We want to reposition the party so that it can win elections,” he said.
On indefinite medical vacation by President Muhammadu Buhari abroad, Sheriff said the president’s absence did not affect governance as he had transferred power to Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
He advised Nigerians not to politicise the issue of health, saying “every living human being will get sick.’’