Following the judgement of the Court of Appeal that affirmed
Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic
Party, the Board of Trustees and the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the
party have appealed to PDP members not
to defect to another political party.
The BoT, which is supporting the sacked National Caretaker
Committee headed by Makarfi, assured the party members that the leadership
tussle was being looked into and that the matter would be settled at the
Supreme Court.
Also, Makarfi said even though the judgement was a temporary
setback, party members should remain calm as they await the party’s next line
of action.
Two of the three judges of the Appeal Court in Port
Harcourt, Rivers State, Justice B. G. Sanga and Justice A. A. Gumel, had, on
Friday, while affirming Sheriff as the Acting Chairman of the PDP, nullified
the Ahmed Makarfi-led National Executive Committee of the party. Justice T. S.
Orji-Abadua, however, disagreed as she ruled against Sheriff, who is the first
appellant in the matter.
At least, four lower courts of concurrent jurisdiction had
given conflicting judgements on the controversy surrounding the leadership of
PDP, a development that made one of the groups to take the matter to the Appeal
Court.
Justice Sanga had, in his ruling, said the party did not
comply with its constitution in removing the Sheriff-led executive of the PDP.
He added, “A vote of no confidence may be moved on any
officer, but in doing that, a two-month notice shall be provided to the
secretariat of the party, which shall also be circulated.
“The way the (Sheriff) executive was removed on May 21, 2016
showed that the party’s constitution was not complied with.”
While setting aside the judgement of a High Court delivered
on July 4, 2016, Justice Sanga described the action of the PDP as an illegality
and that the court would not close its eyes to it. He described the various judgements
given by different courts of coordinate jurisdiction as an abuse of court
processes, even as he annulled the National Convention held on May 21, 2016.
The judge also awarded the sum of N100,000 in favour of each
appellant in the matter, saying, “the proceedings and other decisions taken on
May 21, 2016 at the National Convention are hereby set aside.”
In his own ruling during the judgement that lasted about
three hours, Justice Gumel upheld the lead judgement delivered by Justice
Sanga, adding that the setting up of a caretaker committee by the National
Convention on May 21, 2016 was illegal.
Gumel described the preliminary objection filed by the PDP
as incompetent, adding that the Sheriff-led executive of the PDP could not be
removed until August 2017, unless the party holds an election.
He submitted that the originating summons in the suit filed
at the Federal High Court was overreaching and instructed that parties involved
in the matter should maintain the status quo.
However, Justice Orji-Abadua, in his sharp dissenting
judgement, stated that based on Article 33 (3) of the PDP constitution, Sheriff
did not possess an overriding power to cancel the May 21, 2016 National
Convention of the party.
She explained that Sheriff, who was leading the PDP in an
acting capacity and took part in the screening before the National Convention
of the party, erroneously absented himself from the event. She said the
development made the PDP to align with the dictates of its constitution and
established a caretaker committee.
Justice Orji-Abadua, however, stated that Article 47 of the
PDP constitution did not make it compulsory for the PDP to pass a vote of no
confidence before removing its officers. She upheld that there was nothing
wrong in the decision of the National Convention of the PDP and therefore,
awarded N100,000 cost in favour of the PDP.
Reacting to the judgement, the Deputy National Chairman of
the Sheriff-led group, Dr. Cairo Ojugbo, expressed the need for reconciliation
among members of the party, even as he described the Appeal Court ruling as a
“No victor, no vanquished.”
Ojugbo said there was an agreement between the two factions
not to appeal the outcome of the judgement, saying Sheriff had promised to
abide by its outcome.
But the BoT chairman, Senator Walid Jubrin, in an interview
with one of our correspondents in Abuja on Friday, maintained that the matter
would be settled at the Supreme Court, while appealing to members to stay in
the party.
He added, “I want to appeal to the people, our members, not
to go. They should not move to another party. They should please stay put in
the PDP.
“Those who are crying today will laugh. Those who are sad
will laugh. Those who are disillusioned would be happy again. This matter will
be resolved by the party itself and we are ready to go to any length to make
sure that we remain united.
“Out of the three judges, one supported the Makarfi group.
We have confidence in the judiciary. I want to appeal to our members to remain
calm. Our party is consulting with various organs of the party on the next line
of action.
“This judgement is not a threat, but it will put us
together. All former leaders of the party like former President Goodluck
Jonathan, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, and others are with us.”
He argued that the dissenting judgment by one of the three
judges that sat on the appeal was an indication that the Makarfi faction could
still get a favourable judgement at the highest court.
Judgement, a temporary setback – Makarfi
In the same vein, the embattled caretaker committee
chairman, Makarfi, described the Appeal Court judgement as a temporary setback
for the party, noting, however, that the party would overcome the setback
politically and legally.
Makarfi, a former Governor of Kaduna State, told newsmen in
Kaduna on Friday that he had utmost respect for the judiciary and that he would
await his party’s next line of action. He said the party had done a lot of
things to remain afloat since he took over as the leader of the caretaker
committee.
The two-time senator also appealed to party members to
remain calm, noting that “they should know we are in the opposition. We have to
accept this temporary setback.”
“We will not allow opposition to be killed. We must strive
to ensure that we survive for the sake of democracy and the country,” he added.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Markafi-led PDP, Prince
Dayo Adeyeye, has described the Appeal Court ruling as a disappointment and
disservice to the PDP and the Nigerian democracy. He said the faction would
take the matter to the Supreme Court and that the faction would remain the
caretaker committee of the party until the Supreme Court takes a contrary
decision.
He hailed the courage of Justice Orji-Abadua for dissenting
from the ruling of the two other members of the Appeal Court panel, even as he
accused the All Progressives Congress of plotting to destabilise the PDP.
Adeyeye said the Makarfi faction had hoped the judgement
would help to restore law and order in the troubled party, while expressing
hope that the setback would be corrected at the Supreme Court.
He added, “It was a disappointment, but we shall succeed at
the Supreme Court. It is a victory that will not last. The minority is giving
us hope and I can assure you that we will appeal. Surely, in the next few days,
we shall tell our lawyers to proceed to the Supreme Court.”
Also, Counsel for Makarfi-led PDP, Mr. Oladejo Lamikanra
(SAN) said even though the Appeal Court ruling was in favour of the appellant
(Sheriff-led group), the Supreme Court might upturn or agree with the ruling of
the Appeal Court.
I still regret bringing Sheriff – Fayose
Also speaking on the judgement, the Governor of Ekiti State,
Mr. Ayodele Fayose, said he was still regretting the role he played in bringing
Sheriff to lead the party.
Fayose, who spoke with journalists in Abuja in his capacity
as the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, said he backed out of the deal when
he realised that Sheriff did not mean well for the party.
However, he said he was sure that the judgement would not
stand.
Fayose said, “Several times I have regretted bringing
sheriff, I still regret it, but I have reversed my action. I took
responsibility and I must say that I took that decision with good heart.
“But the outcome of the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt
that reinstated Sheriff against the will of the people, is nothing but a rape
on our democracy.
“If the people truly symbolises what a party is, then the
machination of our detractors and the anti-democratic organs will not prevail
at last.
“We commend the minority judgement of the court and we
believe the truth will prevail. Thank God we have another opportunity to seek
justice at the Supreme Court, which I believe will not be delayed or denied.
“The party will appeal the judgement as we believe in the
ability of the judiciary to do justice, however, we plead with our members,
leaders and supporters to calm down as we keep hope alive.
“If this is a price to pay to keep our democracy alive and
opposition strengthened, we are prepared to go the whole hug.”
He added that the party organs would meet soon and take
concrete steps and decisions on the way forward.
No cause for alarm over PDP, says Ekweremadu
The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu,
urged PDP faithful not to be anxious over the ruling of the Court of Appeal,
Port Harcourt, on the lingering party leadership tussle.
He stated this on Friday, in a statement by his Special
Adviser on Media, Mr. Uche Anichukwu, while reacting to the judgement.
Ekweradu said, “There is no cause for alarm. The party
leadership will meet as soon as possible to take a decision on the best way
forward.
“I enjoin party faithful to remain steadfast as we will
surely emerge stronger from the present challenges. Those dreaming about the
death of the opposition in Nigeria will have to sleep much longer, and still
wake up to meet us much stronger because a vibrant opposition is the beauty of
democracy.”
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