Erstwhile National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ali Modu Sheriff, has pledged the commitment and loyalty of his supporters and loyalists to the ideals, goals and principles of the party under Ahmed Makarfi’s leadership.
Though he accused Makarfi of using the victory at the Supreme Court as a licence to victimize party members, Sheriff appealed to members and supporters of his deposed leadership faction to remain calm and refrain from further legal action of any sort against the party.
In a statement by his spokesman, Bernard Mikko, Sheriff said: “We hope the current spate of threats and outright acts of intimidation will cease so that millions of our party members would not start seeking ‘alternate platforms’ to secure their political future.
“While remaining loyal and committed to the ideals and goals of the PDP, we also owe it a duty to preserve our personal honour and protect the political interest of millions of PDP members nationwide, who are looking up to us for leadership. We appeal to our loyal members and supporters to remain calm and refrain from further legal action of any sort.
“We, therefore, appeal to true lovers of democracy, the civil society and the media to join hands with us to ensure that all forms of impunity, lawlessness and blind ambition are controlled and dispensed with.
“Nigeria is a constitutional democracy and acts that are capable of destroying our multi-party system must be avoided. As major stakeholders in the current political dispensation, we will not remain silent and docile while the democratic norms and values we cherish are being systematically destroyed.
“Whereas majority of party member and loyalists continue to dream; desire and pray for a united party devoid of divisive tendencies with the hope of quickly recovering the lost grounds; We, the concerned members of the People’s Democratic Party, committed to internal democracy; justice and rule of law, have observed with the deepest concern the recent negative developments in our dear party.
“Unfortunately and ironically, the six-man caretaker committee under the chairmanship of Senator Ahmed Makarfi is rather celebrating and pursuing the implementation of the fractionalisation of the party.
“The NCC goaded and guided by some ambitious presidential aspirants had shown clearly the paths of constitutionality and rule of law is not theirs to follow. How can the chairman of the NCC, for instance, explain the dissolution of executive committee members of states that were duly and legally elected to serve four years from April 2016.
“It is most worrisome that the Supreme Court judgment is rather seen as a license to victimize millions of party members.”