PDP S/West, at zonal meeting, says ‘no more reconciliation with Sheriff’

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South West zone rose from its leadership meeting, in Ado Ekiti, on Tuesday and announced that it has foreclosed any more reconciliation meeting with factional national chairman of the party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.

After the meeting held at the presidential lodge in Government House, Ado Ekiti and attended by leaders of the part from the six states in the zone, the party leaders also reiterated their support “for the National Caretaker Committee of the party under the leadership of Senator Ahmed Makarfi, in the quest to reposition, reorganise and promote the standing of the party in Nigeria.”

Addressing newsmen at the end of the meeting, governor of Ekiti State and Chairman of PDP Governors Forum, Mr Ayodele Fayose, said the party in the zone “stands with Ahmed Makarfi” and will have nothing more to do with Sheriff.

Fayose said: “We laud the former President Goodluck Jonathan, he proved himself to be a worthy leader and we appreciate. Even though the meeting ended the way it ended, it does not take away the goodwill of Jonathan and his good intention. We stand behind him and with him. But in the South West, we will not attend any other meeting with Sheriff, called by anybody. We will not attend anymore.

“In South West, the door of reconciliation with Sheriff is shut. We are honourable people. We believe in reconciliation but not with impossible characters.”

In a communiqué after the meeting, read by the National Vice Chairman (South West) of the party, Chief Eddy Olafeso, PDP said “we are resolved to ensure that our party, the PDP, will not be hijacked and taken over by fifth columnists and APC agents as represented by the Ali Modu Sheriff group.”

They also said in the communiqué that “this meeting resolves resolutely not to honour any further meeting geared towards reconciliation with the Sherrif group as they are totally extraneous to our party and therefore of no use to the wellbeing of our party.”

The party also frowned on what it said was continued detention of some of its leaders and members, saying the party viewed the continued detention of the people as intimidation.

“We condemn the continuing arrest and wholesale intimidation of leaders and members of our great party which subsists since the inauguration of the APC government of President Muhammadu Buhari under the guise of fighting corruption.

“We note that the so called battle against corruption is indeed a masked war against prominent members of the PDP.

In this regard we note the continuing detention of Gabriel Suswan and Dr Babangida Aliyu, the immediate past Governor of Benue and Niger States, Col Sambo Dasuki, Babatunde Olalere Gbadamosi, Nnamdi Kanu and other Nigerians being detained most illegally by the Buhari government.

“This attitude is undemocratic and an abuse of the fundamental rights of those concerned.”