FAYOSE, WIKE FREE TO LEAVE PDP- SHERRIF

The National Chairman of the Peoples
Democratic Party, Senator Ali Modu
Sheriff, has said the party is ready to
call the bluff of its governors that are
not ready to accept him.
He also said the party was not ready to
collect money from the governors to
fund the party , saying the former
ruling party would not collect what he
called “ stolen money from the
governors.”
He added that the party would not
defend any of the governors when the
Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission came after them on how
they spent state money while in office .
Sheriff, who spoke to our
correspondent through his deputy, Dr.
Cairo Ojougboh, on the telephone in
Abuja on Saturday , said the party was
ready to move on without the
governors who refused to join hands
in rebuilding the party.
Ojougboh, who said he was already in
the South - East , where he said the
party was going to commence its
nationwide mobilisation , specifically
said both the governors of Rivers and
Ekiti states , Nyesom Wike and Ayodele
Fayose , were free to leave the party if
they so desired .
Sheriff and members of his team had,
on Thursday in Abuja, walked out of a
reconciliatory meeting called by
former President Goodluck Jonathan
over disagreements on how the
meeting should be conducted.
Sheriff had insisted that he would
preside over the meeting, but Wike
and Fayose disagreed , saying Jonathan
should preside since it was a
reconciliatory and not a party
meeting.
However , members of the National
Caretaker Committee of the party led
by Senator Ahmed Makarfi and other
stakeholders did not leave the venue ,
even after Sheriff and his team left .
Jonathan, who described the walkout
by Sheriff and his team as
unfortunate, said he was going to set
up a committee of not more than 40
persons on how to resolve the crisis in
the party.
Makarfi and members of his team are
currently at the Supreme Court, where
they filed an appeal against the
judgment of a Federal High Court , Port
Harcourt, Rivers State , which affirmed
Sheriff as the national chairman of the
troubled party .
He said the party would not want to be
dragged into how the governors spent
the resources of their states .
Ojougboh said , “ We are moving on
with the determination to reposition
the party. We are not interested in the
funding of the party from the
governors. They are free to leave if
they want to , especially Wike and
Fayose .
“ We are also not interested in their
money . The party belongs to the
people, they will finance it. So , if the
governors want to withhold money
from the party, they are free. We don ’ t
receive stolen money . They have not
been funding us and we are
surviving.”
He said the party was already
planning a nationwide campaign,
adding that they were already in the
South - East where he said the
campaign would start .
“ We are starting with Anambra , Imo,
Ebonyi , Enugu and Abia states , and
then we will move to Cross River State .
The party belongs to the people and
not to governors who will want to steal
people’s money ,” he added .
Efforts made by our correspondent to
get the reaction of Fayose , who is also
the Chairman of the PDP Governors ’
Forum, failed as his aide refused to
speak on the matter .
His Chief Press Secretary , Mr. Idowu
Adelusi, promised to call our
correspondent back but failed to do as
of the time of filling this report .