Judgment nullifying Sheriff’s election stays —Makarfi

AS stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) meet today, strong indications have emerged in Abuja that Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, the newly reinstated national chairman, may yet be hamstrung because of a subsisting court order which nullified the process leading to his emergence as the party boss.

An Abuja high court, presided over by Justice Valentine Ashi, had, in June 2016, declared as “null and void” the process that produced the former Borno State governor as the national chairman of the party.

The judge had faulted the amended PDP constitution in 2014, which led to the emergence of Sheriff following the resignation of former Bauchi State governor, Adamu Muazu.

The amendment had zoned the office of the national chairman of the party to the North-East, but in his ruling on the matter, Justice Ashi held that the amendment was a violation of the Electoral Act.

He described the actions of the PDP leaders who participated in the amendment of the document as illegal.

Sheriff has not appealed the court’s decision since then.

Top party sources told the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja, on Sunday, that the National Caretaker Committee led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi will make that a focal point in its effort to prove that Sheriff is not eligible to be the national chairman despite getting a favourable decision from the Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt.

According to the sources, the case decided by the Court of Appeal was purely on the legality of the May 21, 2016 national convention of the party and has no bearing on the nullification of Sheriff’s emergence as the national chairman.

Party elders loyal to the national caretaker committee were due to meet in Abuja on Sunday night as a prelude to the enlarged stakeholders meeting scheduled for today.

It was learnt that before approaching the Supreme Court over the Court of Appeal judgment, they will posit that since Sheriff did not appeal the court decision that voided his election, the judgement stands and so, he cannot claim to be the national chairman of the party.

“This is going to be a focal issue. Before we appeal and there’s a stay, we are going to remind ourselves that the judgement that voided his election still subsists,” our source said.

Noting that the window for appeal of the judgment has already lapsed, the source said Sheriff can however seek for leave to appeal and will get it under fundamental right.

“That will mean going back to the Court of Appeal and it will take months to decide,” the source added.

But Makarfi’s camp is confident that if the Port Harcourt Appeal Court judgment is taken before the Supreme Court, the apex court would do an expedited hearing of the case because it is tied to elections.

“Whether we like it or not, party leadership is tied to elections and there are nationally conducted elections every now and then. Once you approach it with that sound argument, they know that this is not a matter to be allowed to linger because it can cause a denial of representation by the PDP,” the source added.