The National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff yesterday challenged the former ministers on the platform
of the party to declare their sources of money.
Sheriff, who spoke through his deputy, Cairo Ojougboh said
that the party Constitution does not recognize the group called Forum of PDP
former Ministers.
Declaring the body as illegal, Sheriff, who was reacting to
the media briefing by the former ministers, said that he will obey the ruling
of the Supreme Court.
The former ministers had on Monday, while addressing newsmen
shortly after their closed door meeting, challenged President Muhammad Buhari
to contest the 2019 election and also passed a vote of confidence on Ahmed
Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee.
Angered by the vote of confidence on Makarfi-led Committee,
Sheriff said, "we want to say first of all that the party Constitution is
very clear and the organs of the party are specified, from the ward executive
committee down to the National Convention of the party. On this list there is
nothing like the forum of former ministers.
"We take exception to the comments of this group of
persons who met yesterday and called themselves, forum of former ministers.
"We want to say that under normal circumstances, in
some countries, these are people who will not normally show themselves in the
public. We want to say also that it is very disheartening that persons of these
calibre, some of them lawyers would take impunity to the highest level by
declaring that they support Makarfi. Because they are expecting judgment from
the Supreme Court, they want to sway the opinion of Supreme Court.
"These group of persons have alot of money, money from
sources that cannot be explained and their opinion is that they can buy the
party, but Sheriff has said no, that the party is not for sale and so, they
know who to support and they know the people they can buy, but if it is Sheriff
they cannot.
"Our position is very clear, yes! They might not
support Sheriff and the reason is simple, yes! They know they cannot buy
Sheriff, Sheriff is not for sale, Sheriff and the PDP, the party is for the
masses and the governors have said that whatever comes out of the Supreme Court
that is how the party would be.
"We want to thank specifically the governors who met
and reaffirm that whatever happens at the Supreme Court that they will key into
it and the party will be rebuilt from there."
The Chairman further lambasted the former ministers,
pointing out that ordinarily, not only can the ministers win their ward
elections, but they help to destroy the country and the party.
"We advise the press not to grant any ordience of such
nature because you are given ordience to illegal body. The PDP Constitution is
very clear, they are not an organ of the party, they don't exist in the rules
of the party. These are people who cannot win election in their wards. We don't
recognize them as organ of the party. In their own personal individual we
recognize them.
"Ordinarily, these people will not walk the street,
they were given opportunity to run this country, but they ran it aground. They
were given the opportunity to implement the manifesto of the PDP, they finished
the PDP, they finished the country and here they are regrouping, Nigerians are
not fools, Nigerians will not listen to them, Nigerians are hoping and waiting
for the new PDP that will emerge after the ruling of the Supreme Court, whichever
way it goes, the Sheriff and the National Working Committee will obey and abide
by orders of the Supreme Court," he said.
Sheriff declared that PDP is a law abiding party, and had
respected the outcome, the declaration and the ruling of the High Court in
Lagos and Abuja that said that they should not hold convention.
He said that the PDP they are rebuilding is not a party
where one man can boast that the party belong to him.
"The PDP that we are rebuilding is not a PDP where one
man can say he owns the party. God, who brought Sheriff does not made mistake
and Sheriff is the agent of change from anti party democracy in Nigeria.
Without the presence of Sheriff, today, I am sure Oyegun would not have been
the Chairman of APC, but the APC also has learnt that they have to respect the
party, that the party is supreme.
"And those of us in the PDP that are the direct
architect of what is happening in the PDP we have refused to obey the court of
the land. For the avoidance of doubt, we want to restate that the entire
grassroots of PDP in the whole country are solidly behind Sheriff.
"God's willing, the outcome of the Supreme Court
Sheriff will obey it and we do know that we will always obey the rule of law
and we urge the Supreme Court not to be swayed by the posture of these persons
who ordinarily cannot walk the street," the Chairman said.
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