The National Legal Adviser and member of the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Barrister Bashir Maidugu, has faulted the decision of the national caretaker committee of the party to go ahead with its August 17 national convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He said it will be contempt of court if the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led committee goes ahead with the convention of the party hold the planned National Convention slated for August 17, 2016, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Maidugu explained that based on the order of an Abuja High Court last Thursday, which affirmed Sheriff as the only authentic national chairman of the party and declared all the actions of the caretaker committee from May 21, to date as null and void, Makarfi should accept defeat and allow peace to reign in the party.
The legal adviser, who made this position known on Saturday in Abuja, said that the best thing to do was for the caretaker committee to “collapse into the mainstream” and work collectively with Sheriff for the party to convene “an acceptable convention” to elect new leaders.
He threatened that Sheriff would file contempt charges against any group that holds a convention, adding that the “so-called” delegates and other party stalwarts preparing for the exercise were risking their chances in the party.
“Well, if they are going ahead with the convention, I wish them good luck but the people who will participate in the convention should know that there is a pronouncement by a court of competent jurisdiction with regards to the activities that will be conducted during the convention and the law is very clear on contempt.
“The judgement of Thursday, was very emphatic on the legality or illegality of the situation on ground. So at this juncture, I will not trade blames. I urge those in the other group to come and join us in building a better party for Nigeria. They are PDP like us. They have interest in the party, nobody doubts that but the judiciary has pronounced the obvious.
“It is very unfortunate that people are behaving in such a way that I will call very unreasonable. We are reasonable people. We are supposed to abide by decisions of courts. Anything based on illegality cannot stand the taste of time. It will be declared so by the courts”, he said.
