Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and the Chairman of the sacked Caretaker Committee of the party, Senator Ahmed Makarfi on Monday in Abuja, engaged each other in war of words over alleged subvention from the governors elected on the platform of the party.
Sheriff accused the caretaker committee headed by Makarfi of collecting N5m monthly as subvention from the governors, while Makarfi also accused Sheriff and his team of hobnobbing with the ruling party.
Though he did not deny that the governors fund the committee, Malarfi however accused Sheriff and other members of his group to declare where they got the jeeps they are riding from.
Sheriff said that the caretaker committee members were weary to leave because of the alleged N50m he said they received monthly from the governors to run the party.
He alleged that this was why the members of the caretaker committee which had been outlawed by the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, rushed to the Supreme Court to appeal the judgement.
Deputy Chairman of the party, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, who spoke on behalf of Sheriff made this allegation at a press briefing in Abuja.
Ojougboh, who spoke at the party’s national secretariat, said that the caretaker committee was already crumbling.
He also alleged that Makarfi was plotting to pick the presidential ticket of the party in 2019.
He said, “The reason why the caretaker committee members are protesting is that they have seen that the table is now crumbling fast under their feet.
“All the organs of the party are cueing into the reconciliation and when the reconciliation pulls through, they are out and Senator Makarfi can only come as member of the Board of Trustees and so the N50 million monthly subvention from governors will stop.
“They get subvention from the governors every month and when reconciliation happens, that subvention will stop.
“Secondly, Makarfi wants a situation where he will tailor-make and tailor-made the convention to suit his interest because he has come out to say that he will be contesting the presidency of the country. ”
He said that the party was not willing to tie the future around any individual.
The former member of the House of Representatives said, “We are very mindful that we are not going to tie our party around any individual.
“That is why the national chairman, Sheriff said look, I am going to throw everything (Including the presidential ticket ) open.
“That is why we are studying the position of the reconciliation committee and that is good enough to advance our party. They (caretaker committee members) know that as soon as the ongoing reconciliation pulls through they will no longer exit.”
Ojougboh also reacted to the allegation that he didn’t contest any position and that, he was just an appointee of Sheriff.
He said that could be true, but insisted that the occupier of the office before, Prince Uche Secondus and other four members of the National Working Committee, had resigned their positions.
He said the former officers of the party were also paid severance allowances.
He said, “The recent judgement of the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt has been fully implemented.
“It is worthy of note that as at the May 21, 2016, five members of the NWC had voluntarily resigned their position, signed an indemnity before the High Court that they had so resigned and they were paid their severance allowances.
“As at today, these members have not written to withdraw their letters of resignation.”
He also said that some members of staff of the pay had resumed work at the party’s national secretariat, but likened those who had refused to resume to the tail wagging the dog. “This cannot stand,” he added.
