With the return of Sheriff to the national secretatiat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Monday, June13, and the Senator Ahmed Mohammed Markafi-led Caretaker Committee fighting to stay on, JOHN NWOKOCHA writes that the party may be left to continue its macabre dance.
Again, PDP crisis resurfaced when yesterday, Monday June13, Ali Modu Sheriff stormed the party’s national secretariat in Abuja in a commando like style reminiscent of action movie in Holywood to re take the soul of the party, citing a subsisting court ruling just when watchers thought that there was a respite for the much embattled party as the Ahmed Markafi Caretaker Committee was given the green light to coast through the murkey waters and redirect the party to repossess its former glory.
The embattled Sheriff who beat all security hurdles erected by the police to enter the party’s premises reportedly acted on the order of the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, after which he declared himself the party’s national chairman till 2018, in the same vein warned Markafi to wait till the party’s next national convention if he was nursing the ambition to be national chairman.
The Sheriff’s forceful takeover of the party has left the cracks in the party widened, confusion in the atmosphere and similarly left everyone with the unfortunate conclusion that the PDP is having a dance of death this time around as all efforts to reconcile the family members in the different feuding camps over the past 10 months have seemingly failed, not withstanding optimisms by some of the founding fathers like Professor Jerry Gana that the party will come out of the crisis stronger. But with time ticking inexorably and the crisis worsening the founding fathers need to do more than mere expression of hope to save the soul of the party from itself, which the party is desperately in need of, moreso, at a time when political parties have begun the race for 2019, beginning with the Edo and Ondo governorship elections that are already at hand.
In late May, Sheriff was removed as national chairman of the party in Port Har court Rivers State in what was supposed to be the party’s national convention under a bizarre circumstance which the deposed Sheriff described as betrayal, insisted that he was still the chairman. Following his removal, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) announced a caretaker committee headed by former Kaduna state governor, Senator Ahmed Markafi. The NWC unanimously pledged their allegiance to the new caretaker committee.
A statement signed by the outgoing national vice chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus; the deputy national secretary, Barrister Onwe Solomon Onwe; national legal adviser, Victor Kwon; national woman leader, Amb Kema Chikwe; national youth leader, Abdullahi Maibasira; national financial secretary, Bolaji Anani and national treasurer, Alhaji Buhari Bala, said as products of the party’s convention in Port Harcourt, they accepted all the decisions and resolutions reached.
“The national caretaker committee constituted by the national convention on May 21, 2016, is fully within the powers of the national convention under Section 33 (5) (e) of the party’s constitution.
“We recognise the Sen Ahmed Makarfi-led national caretaker committee of the PDP and offer the committee all our support and cooperation”, the statement said.But almost immediately, Sheriff who stormed out of the convention arena,headed for the Federal High Court in Lagos, presided by Justice Ibrahim Buba who sacked Markafi and his committee members and ordered the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, to enforce the order immediately.
Sheriff, along with other plaintiffs; namely, National Secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo and National Auditor, Alhaji Fatai Adeyanju, had prayed the court for an interlocutory injunction restraining PDP from conducting any election into the offices of the National Chairman, National Secretary and National Auditor which they occupy, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
Buba, in the ruling, held that the committee was appointed in violation of an order he made on May 12 and therefore, sacked the committee.
He had barred the party from conducting elections into offices of the national chairman, national secretary and national auditor pending hearing and determination of the suit.
The judge had also restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from monitoring the election. Buba similarly, directed the Inspector-General of Police to enforce the order.
Justice Buba said he would not allow his order to be violated without consequence, adding that he had an obligation to ensure his directives were obeyed.
“No court can make an order in vain,” he held.
Oladipo and Adeyanju’s lawyer, Ajibola Oluyede, informed the trial judge about an application filed yesterday in which he prayed the court to invoke its disciplinary powers.
He said: “Certain steps were taken to remove the plaintiffs from their offices notwithstanding your lordship’s interlocutory injunction which restrained the respondents from taking such steps.
“The steps were taken over the weekend to remove them and it was during the pendency of this action. It is for that reason that we were constrained to file this application. We seek your lordship’s disciplinary jurisdiction to bring back matters to the status quo based on the order of May 12.”
Justice Buba said, although Oluyede’s application was not ripe for hearing, he was bound to protect the court’s sanctity against violation of its orders, stressing that to ignore flouting a court order was to invite anarchy.
He quoted Section 287 (3) of the 1999 Constitution, which says: “The decisions of the Federal High Court, a High Court and of all other courts established by this Constitution shall be enforced in any part of the federation by all authorities and persons, and by other courts of law with subordinate jurisdiction to that of the Federal High Court, a High Court and those other courts, respectively.”
The judge added: “Therefore, the Inspector-General of Police is directed to enforce the orders of this court until the order is set aside or all the applications before the court are disposed of.
“Because of the nature of this matter being political, time is hereby abridged for the hearing of all applications.”
The judge warned Makarfi’s committee “not to act in that capacity in defiance of this order.”
But on the same day another Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, also ordered the ousted national chairman and secretary to stop parading themselves as executives of the party.
The court also granted a restraining order on any member of the party’s who was removed from office by the its National Convention in Port Harcourt from receiving nominations and submitting names to the INEC as officers or candidates of the PDP in whatever capacity, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice brought by the party.
Speaking through his Special Adviser (Media), Mr Inuwa Bwala, he has already commenced reaching out to all aggrieved members of the party including the Professor Jerry Gana and Senator Ibrahim Mantu group for reconciliation.”
But in a rather surprise turn of event, only last week all organs of the party, including the Board of Trustees and the PDP Governors Forum, gathered in Abuja to formally give their nod to formal take off of Makarfi’s committee.
Speaking while handing over the reins of office to the head of the caretaker committee Makarfi, on behalf of the desolved National Working Committee, on June6,the former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, advised the new leadership to take the party to the grassroots.
He pledged the support of the former NWC members’ to the caretaker committee to move the party forward.
Hear Secondus:“Our leaders must go back to the grassroots. It is no enough t be in Abuja and say I am former this, former that.
Or say I am strong here or there. “We must go to the grassroots beuse we no longer have government, security agencie, money. “What matter most is the grassroots, the popularity of your persons at the grassroots. Don’t wait for another person to deliver for you and for you to earn the glory in Abuja”. “This party is strong and capable of resolving their problems. This party is not divided. This party will move forward. This party is ready to capture power in 2019”.
Speaking to newsmen that Monday, Sheriff said he had waited patiently for the expiration of the Federal High Court order from Port Harcourt, barring him from parading himself as the chairman of the party on June 9, adding that he was resuming office as the motion exparte was not extended.
Sheriff who was accompanied by three ex-officials, former National Secretary, Prof. Adewale Oladipo, and the National Auditor, Alhaji Adeyanju Adewole and former Political Adviser, Barrister Ahmed Gulak, in their company cut the image of one set for a fight- to –finish and would bare his fangs on any opponent. He said he has his strategy for the Edo election explaining that he had set up a screening committee, under the leadership of Senator Hope Uzodimma. He further disclosed that the nomination form payable by aspiring members in the state, was N10 million, instead of the N16 million charged by the Makarfi committee. Attempts by this reporter to get the reaction of Makarfi proved abortive.
Meanwhile, the party’s BoT reportedly described the caretaker committee as needless. Its secretary, Ambassador Ojo Maduekwe, while appealing for calm recently over the crises, assured that the board would soon announce policies and programmes that will culminate in the election. In the maintime, the PDP is relentlessly heading for self destruction and only a quick intervention can stop it. It is a wait- and -see drama as the party struggles to bounce back.
