Sheriff’s verdict: PDP needs surgery

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under the leadership of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff on Sunday canvassed for the need to reposition the party through a major political surgery.
The party said in a statement signed by Mr Bernard Mikko, the factional PDP Acting National Publicity Secretary to Sheriff in Abuja.
He recalled that there was a general consensus that PDP was undergoing stress and political hemorrhage arising from structural impunity, indiscipline and lack of respect for rule of law.
Mikko said that such action had compromised the party’s unity, strength and loss of focus on the key values that engendered public trust and electoral victory for PDP over a decade.
“To reverse these trends, a major political surgery has to be undertaken to get the party out of the grip of some selfish, lawless, and undisciplined individuals.
“ The individuals who have used our platform to public reckoning, but now want to make the party an exclusive property of theirs.
“The PDP as you know is the only formidable political institution that has remained so without change of name, slogan or nomenclature.
“The weakness and schisms within the hierarchy of our party today is as a result of violent disregard of our constitution, ethics and rules of engagements of divergent opinions within and outside the party,’’ he said.
Mikko said that politics is about building consensus and legitimacy to promote unity through equity, fairness and justice.
“The case before the court of Appeal, Port Harcourt division is essentially to determine the legality or otherwise of the Sen. Ahmed Makarfi led national caretaker committee which has no place in the PDP’s constitution,’’ he said.
Mikko said that the faction of the party was confident that the Appeal Court would cure the misgivings and error of judgment for which “Makarfi-led caretaker contraption is claiming legality.’’
“It is in this regard that we appeal to our supporters not waiver in our determination to reposition our party to greater electoral fortunes.
“They should also discountenance remarks by those who are still insisting on taking the people of the grass root for granted, using the PDP as a franchise for oppression, peonage and graft,’’ he said.
Mikko said that the hate speeches espoused by the Markafi-led National Publicity, Mr Dayo Adeyeye, “to undermine the reconciliatory effort by Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff will not succeed.
He said that the wisdom behind the recent setting up of PDP Caretaker Committee in Rivers chaired by Dr Silva Opusunju was to remove the needless friction in governance, instill accountability and transparency in public affairs.
Mikko said that it was also to eradicate impunity, recklessness and adult delinquency in PDP in particular, and governance in general.
“Rivers State is known to be a core PDP state since its creation in May, 1967.
“The confusion and violence in the state today is due largely to the emergence of some political leaders through impunity.
“It is due to lack of respect for zonal provisions in Article 7(3c) of 2014 PDP Constitution (as amended) and section 14(4) of the 1999 Constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended),’’ he said.
Mikko urged teeming supporters and stakeholders to remain focused on the key ideals of the party that have kept the strong and resilient over the years.