The leadership crises rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may soon be resolved as the duo of Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff and Sen. Ahmed Makarfi have started a process of reconciliation through consultations that will address the in-house fight.
The immediate past national vice chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for South-South, Dr Cairo Ojougboh revealed that the two warring factions have started a negotiation talk with a view to resolving the leadership tussle.
Dr Ojougboh who parades himself as Sheriff’s deputy, told newsmen yesterday, in Abuja, that the Sheriff camp had made its terms for peace known to the Makarfi group, adding that: “We are however, insisting that Sheriff remains the authentic chairman.”
Ojougboh, who however, declined to outline the conditions given by Sheriff’s camp for peace to rein in the troubled opposition party, insisted that “the conditions for truce are being worked out.”
He said if Sheriff succeeds in the battle, it would deepen multi-party democracy in the country, stressing that as it is now, only Sheriff can submit the names of PDP candidates for the Edo and Ondo states governorship elections.
Ojougboh also claimed that PDP governors manipulated the recently conducted party congresses in their states and announced that Sheriff has resolved to revisit the congresses nationwide to ensure that the party returned to the people at the grassroots and not the governors.
“We have made our terms of peace known to the two camps, we are talking. Impunity must be killed, impunity must be addressed in our party. Sheriff does not want governors to sit in their rooms and pick candidates.
“It was governors that said we are going to zone the chairmanship to Sheriff so what has now gone wrong? But I can assure you, both camps are working on truce,” he said.
Ojougboh also took a swipe at the spokesman of the Makarfi-led national caretaker committee, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, saying: “If anyone is to be arrested, Adeyeye should be the one for parading himself as the spokesman of an illegal caretaker committee.”
Ojougboh was reacting to a statement credited to Adeyeye in the media, yesterday, which called on the Police to arrest Sheriff for contempt of court.
He explained that “Makarfi is a gentleman” who cannot make such a comment, adding that Adeyeye made such a statement for the PDP crisis to continue at his personal gains.
•Credit: Peoples Daily. Photo shows Sheriff and Makarfi.
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