Members of the PDP National Rebirth Group have described as shameful, embarrassing, disgraceful and appalling the refusal of Senator Dr. Ali Modu Sheriff, the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to accept his removal from office in good faith.

The Group made this statement in Abuja on Saturday, July  2, 2016 after its regular meeting condemning the actions and attitude of the former National Chairman, Senator Ali Sheriff who has been going around causing confusion in the party.

Speaking to the press, Comrade Franklyne Edede, the President of PDP National Rebirth Group said, Senator Sheriff has disgraced the people of the  North East Zone by his uncouth conduct and recalcitrant attitude which is threatening the foundation of the Party upon which he rode to become the National Chairman.

“Its despicable to see Senator Ali Sheriff, a former Senator of the Federal Republic, a two time Governor of Borno State who under normal circumstances could pass as an elder statesman, misbehaving just because he was removed from office, a position he himself has confirmed severally that he was not even prepared to run for in the first place”.

Reacting to the two recent Courts Judgment of Tuesday, June 28, 2016 and Thursday June 30, 2016, Comrade Edede said the ruling of June 28, by Justice Valentine Ashi which nullified the amendments to the PDP Constitution that was alleged to have been used to ratified Dr. Amadu Adamu Muazu in the December 2014 Special National Convention on whose foundation Senator Sheriff was appointed by NEC automatically ruled out any claim of him remaining as Chairman of the PDP.

“If not because Senator Sheriff and his group wants to destroy our Party, how can he still claim he is the Chairman of the Party after the various Courts Judgment. First, he was removed by the National Convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, secondly, the Judgment of June 28, 2016 has also removed him, thirdly, his own Suit he instituted against the Party to lay claim to the office even called him ‘busy body’ and the Judge threw away the Case. Is Senator Ali Modu Sheriff waiting for the Almighty God Himself to come down and remove him before he will know that PDP members does not want him anymore?”

The group went ahead to  make several references to other members of the PDP from other zones of the Federation that once held the position of the Chairman of the Party but left the office without running the Party aground when they were removed.

“It is on record that several National Chairmen of our Party in the past either resigned or where removed but none of them ridiculed the Party the way Senator Sheriff is doing now. Even the two National Chairmen from the North East including Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and Alhaji Amadu Adamu Muazu never behaved this way when they were removed. So what is so special about Ali Modu Sheriff?”

The Group went further to explain the odds against Senator Ali Modu Sheriff beginning from his appointment, his removal and his violation of all known constitutional provisions both the Nigerian Constitution, the Electoral Act and the PDP Constitution.

“You will recall that in line with the principle of zoning which is enshrined in the PDP Constitution to allow for fair play and inclusiveness in Party and national affairs,  the Party graciously in 2012 zoned the Office of the National Chairman to the North East Zone and Alhaji Bamanga Tukur was elected from Adamawa State at the National Convention to fill that position.

“When it became necessary for him to leave the stage, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur resigned and Alhaji  Amadu Adamu Muazu from Bauchi State was appointed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) to complete the tenure of Bamanga Tukur. Alhaji Adamu Muazu’s appointment by NEC was subsequently ratified by the Special National Convention in December 2014 which the Court has nullified. When Muazu also resigned after the 2015 General Elections, it became necessary for the North East Zone to nominate someone from the Zone to fill the vacant position. This was how Senator Dr. Ali Modu Sheriff from Borno State was then appointed by the 68th NEC to complete the four years tenure of the zone.

“May we remind Ali Modu Sheriff that he never even contested in 2012 nor in 2015. Despite his widely celebrated excess buggages, he was just hand picked from nowhere and imposed on the people of the North East Zone.

Ordinarily, the tenure of the National Working Committee under Ali Modu Sheriff was supposed to elapse on the 24th of March, 2016 but the 69th National Executive Committee (NEC) in their wisdom extended the tenure  by three months to offer them time just sufficient to organize and  conduct Congresses and National Convention and handover. So, Ali Modu Sheriff’s mandate  was to come to an end  after the 2016 National Convention of the party.

Comrade Franklyne Edede lamented that though the Court Cases before the Convention where all instituted by the same NWC members including Senator Sheriff to truncate  the conduct of the National Convention, but thanked the leaders of the party for finding a way out at the National Convention and constituted the National Caretaker Committee to avoid power vacuum.

“We, the members of the PDP Rebirth Group wishes to therefore advise Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff and his co-travellers to save the North East Zone of further embarrassment and stop making utterances or engaging in actions capable of polarizing the party”.

Comrade Edede said their advise to Senator Sheriff was born out of the concern over  Modu Sheriff’s continuous violation of the Party Constitution and the Electoral Act in his utterances and conduct saying that how can Senator Sheriff claim to be dissolving Edo State Exco and setting up a Caretaker Committee when he himself openly  denounced  and ignorantly claimed that the National Convention has no powers under the PDP Constitution to set up the National Caretaker Committee.

“You can see the ignorance displayed by Senator Sheriff and his lackeys. If however Ali Modu Sheriff  continues with his belligerent posture, then we will be compelled to believe the rumour going round that Ali Modu Sheriff is indeed out to destroy the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Party he desperately wants to govern”. The popular theory going round is that he has vowed  that if he can not get the Presidential ticket of the party in 2019, then he will also ensure that no one gets it from the North. This, if true is tragic and we the youths of the Party will not allow it”.

Concluding, the Group called on members of the Party, the stakeholders at all levels and the general public to disregard further comments and activities of Senator Sheriff and his cohorts saying that Senator Ali Modu Sheriff is no longer the Chairman of PDP going by the Courts ruling and therefore has no power to take any decision (s) on behalf of the Party and advised members to work and cooperate with Senator Ahmed Makarfi’s led PDP National Caretaker Committee that has been given the mandate by the highest decision making organ of the Party, the National Convention to conduct another Convention to elect officers into the various offices at the national level.

Signed:
Comrade Franklyne Edede, GCONY
National President, PDP National Rebirth Group