The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned the party’s National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, against extending his tenure beyond May 21.
The acting Chairman of the PDP BoT, Senator Walid Jibrin, who gave the warning at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, said any plan by Mr. Sheriff to extend his tenure in office beyond the stipulated date would result in dire consequences for the party.
It would be recalled that Sheriff, a former senator and two-term governor of Borno State, in February emerged national chairman of the party after major organs of the PDP, including its governors, gave him a three-month mandate which is expected to end with the party’s national convention tentatively fixed for May 21.
However, some interest groups have recently been drumming up support for extension of tenure for the national chairman beyond May 21.
But the BoT chair advised Sheriff to ignore what he termed “evil machinations” of sycophants and praise singers and to vacate the seat after the party’s national convention.
Senator Jibrin also warned against subversion of the zoning arrangement, proposed by the Ike Ekweremadu’s Post-Election Review Committee, which zoned the party’s 2019 presidential ticket to the North.
He said: “I want to advice Senator Ali Modu Sherif on the consequences of the evil machinations of praise singers and prophets of doom on the approval of the PDP Governors’ Forum, National Causes, BOT and the NEC terminating his tenure and that of the NWC on May 21, 2016.
“The above responsible bodies have approved that the tenure of national officers will end after the convention.
“The NWC received an overwhelming ovation and admiration at the meeting of the national caucus, BOT and NEC by overlooking their 2017 tenure in support of the three months approval of the respected organs of the party which should strictly be complied with.
“Instead of listening to praise singers, Modu Sherif should follow the path of honour and integrity by simply taking a bow in May 2016 after the national convention.
“The recent courtesy calls to the National Chairman and the presentations being made, especially calling on him to continue beyond the stipulated three months tenure is an invitation to trouble, anarchy and the return of impunity in PDP.
“May I also strongly warn on the dangers of not adhering to the recommendations of Senator Ike Ekweremadu’s Post Election Review Committee (2015) that the party should seek its 2019 presidential candidate from the North of Nigeria to compensate for the obvious violation of the zoning arrangement in the 2011 election which led to a major apathy against the party in the north from 2011, culminating in the poor performance of the party in the 2015 elections.
“The National Caucus, BOT, and NEC have already approved this recommendation by unanimously zoning 2019 presidency to the North. To change this decision now is a further invitation to impunity, lack of party democracy, non-adherence to party zoning principles, influence of godfatherism, lack of respect for the decision of constituted party organs, self-imposition, and killing the PDP.
“Anyone who tries to reverse this position by changing it with another position will ever remain an enemy to the North, a mercenary and killer of PDP”.
Jibrin vowed that the BoT would resist any move by anybody to destroy the party even as he asked Sheriff to a definite stand on the matter to exonerate himself from such clandestine plots.
But in a swift reaction, the PDP chair said he was not contemplating staying beyond the three-month tenure given him by the party.
He spoke through his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Inuwa Bwala.
Bwala said, “The PDP National Chairman has consistently stated that he would not spend one day beyond the time he had to serve the party.
“He has a job to do and he is focused on doing it. His job is to reposition the party and set it on the track of glory”.
