After days of intense politicking, the Peoples Democratic Party has finnall sacked its chairman, Ali Modu Sherriff. The PDP yesterday reversed an earlier decision to cancel its national convention on Saturday in Port Harcourt.
The party concluded the exercise, and formally announced the removal of its national officers and the appointment of a caretaker committee.
Former Gov. Babangida Aliyu of Niger State said that the chairman of the party, Modu Sheriff, who was removed Saturday, lacked the powers to cancel the convention.
He confirmed the sacking of Mr. Sheriff and all members of the party’s national working committee as earlier reported by PREMIUM TIMES.
Mr. Aliyu also moved a motion to cancel the previous zoning arrangement of the party. The motion only upheld the zoning of the presidency to the northern part of the country.
The motion was seconded by Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.
The chairman of the convention, Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, put the question and members agreed to it.
The party appointed a former governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makarfi, as the chairman of the caretaker committee, and named Ben Obi, a former senator, as secretary.
The committee will be in place for three months.
The PDP took the decision on Saturday as part of efforts to resolve the crises the party is facing; party officials told PREMIUM TIMES.
The decision was taken at a meeting at Gov. Wike’s office before it was announced at the convention venue.
A source present at the meeting narrated how other governors and senior party members rejected Mr. Wike’s suggestion that Mr. Sheriff be allowed to head the caretaker committee.
“Governor Fayose said Sheriff should leave for a new caretaker chairman to take over, but Governor Wike said Sheriff should not be disgraced out of office just like that that they should let him be chairman of the caretaker. The governors rejected Mr. Wike’s suggestion,” the source said.
“Sheriff was not happy with the development. In fact, he had to storm out of the venue of the meeting, angrily,” the source said.
The meeting was attended by most of the party’s serving and former governors, senators and federal lawmakers as well as some members of the board of trustees.
