Court-endorsed People Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff has gone for the jugular of the sacked Ahmed Makarfi faction: Governors Nyesom Wike of Rivers and Ekiti’s Ayo Fayose.
His threat: “I will engineer a restructuring of PDP such that characters like Wike and Fayose cannot find a way through to attain any position of prominence in our party in the future. They have brought shame and agony through the application of their crude and godless politics which is at variance with the principles upon which our founding fathers built our great party.
“We must find a way to sieve things so that only men of character and integrity can come through for positions of responsibility at all levels of our political engagement in the country.
“We must urgently steer the ship of PDP clear of the path of infamy which Wike and Fayose has brought our party, making Nigerians to mistaken PDP as a training ground for thugs. That is the urgent task we have. We cannot continue to advertise thug brand and expect Nigerians to take us seriously.”
But the core of the PDP has a plan B if they fail in the Supreme Court. They will leave Sheriff with the court papers and move on, either to form a new mega party, or join and take over an existent one they are in talks with, a Rivers Senator told us Saturday.
“He is doing the agenda of his in-law and we will do our own, if the Supreme Court is cowered like others,” he confided.
The PDP Governors’ Forum spurned the Court of Appeal judgment.
Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, said in Abuja, “If the people truly symbolise what a party is, then the machinations of our detractors and the anti-democratic organs will not prevail at last.
“We commend the minority judgment of the court and we believe 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 judgment 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 hog. The party organs will meet shortly to take concrete steps and decisions on the way forward.”