Ongoing efforts to find political solution to the festering
leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) suffered a huge setback
on Thursday.
The court backed National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Ali
Modu Sheriff, stormed out of a peace meeting convened by former President
Goodluck Jonathan.
The meeting which was chaired by Jonathan, had about four
PDP governors in attendance, including the Chairman of the Board of Trustees
(BoT), Senator Walid Jibrin and other notable chieftains.
Sheriff, who came into the Yar ‘Adua Centre venue of the
meeting long after Jonathan, the governors and other prominent party chiefs had
taken their seats, stormed out of the meeting at 4:25 p.m.
The party chairman disagreed with Jonathan on the meeting,
saying he (Sheriff) remained the most senior member of the PDP and as such, a
meeting of that nature ought to have been convened by him.
The visibly agitated Sheriff was more piqued by Jonathan’s
refusal to allow him address the meeting in his capacity as the national
chairman of the party.
According to him, the meeting was at variance with the
recommendations made by a reconciliation committee, headed by the Bayelsa State
Governor, Seriake Dickson.
Speaking with journalists shortly after he stormed out the
meeting with his team, Sheriff said he would not be party to any arrangement
that seemed to deviate from the recommendation of the Dickson committee.
He said, “We were here for PDP stakeholders’ meeting and the
PDP has only one national chairman, which is Ali Modu-Sheriff. There is no PDP
meeting that will take place under whatever arrangement that I will not open
the session as national chairman. Today, I am the most senior member of this
party.
“I think Governor Dickson made a proposal for
reconciliation. And we have accepted. Some people want to deviate from this
programme, to bring agenda which was not part of it.
“And as national chairman of the party, what I have told you
people in my office when Dickson brought the report is the only thing that we
have agreed at this moment. And I will not be party for anybody using me to do
another programme. I’m not going to be part of it.”
Asked if he had not disrespected Jonathan by storming out of
the meeting, Sheriff said he respects the former President but that respect
must be reciprocal.
By Gbade Ogunwale,
