Sheriff attacks Anenih over 2015 query

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9 years ago

FACTIONAL national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff, has insisted that former chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih, must respond to a query issued to him in April 2015, for alleged anti-party activities.

In a statement issued in Abuja, on Sunday, and signed on his behalf by one Honourable Bernard Mikko, Sheriff said unless the elder statesman responded to the query, his previous resignation as the BoT chairman and member could not change.

It was not clear whether the Iyasele of Esanland was seeking to return to the party’s BoT.

But the factional party boss apparently issued the statement in response to a recent meeting Anenih had with the national caretaker committee of the party, led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, where Anenih had straightened out issues concerning the query issued to him by the then national secretary of the party, Professor Wale Oladipo.

Oladipo is now loyal to the Sheriff faction of the PDP.

Sheriff pointed out that the attention of his factional National Working Committee (NWC) had been drawn to the status of Chief Anenih as a member of BoT of the PDP.

He reminded party members and loyalists that the NWC had issued a query to Chief Anenih in April 2015 “as part of disciplinary procedures for his anti-party activities in Imo State, during the 2015 general election, in line with Article 57(4) of the PDP Constitution 2012 (as amended).”

Sheriff added: “Chief Anenih did not respond to the query, but chose to tender a letter of resignation as BoT member. Up till date, the query remains unanswered and his resignation remains valid.

“Any effort to readmit the chief will have to follow due process which is well known to all party members . If the chief is desirous of returning as member of the BoT, he should reapply to the party, with his response to the pending query for consideration. Party members are, hereby, assured that no individual or group will be prejudiced in the enforcement of discipline and the application of the rule of law.”

Anenih, on his part, commended the national caretaker committee for “its steps to correct the injustice meted to me by the immediate past NWC,’’ and said it was “a consequence of this blatant unfairness and other similarly disappointing developments, following the loss of our party in the presidential election, that I was compelled to resign from office by the leadership of the party.”