The opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is currently on the brink of<\/p>\n
collapse as Governors on its platform are spoiling for war following plots
\nby its Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff to elongate his leadership of the party,
\nPointblanknews.com has learned.<\/p>\n
Governors Nyesom Wike, (Rivers), Ayo Fayose, (Ekiti), Emmanuel Udom, (Akwa
\nIbom) Dave Umahi, (Ebonyi) and Senator Buruji Kashamu have all lined up
\nbehind Sheriff to continue as Chairman of the PDP.<\/p>\n
While Governors Seriaki Dickson, (Bayelsa), Okezie Ikpeazu, (Abia),
\nIfeanyi Okowa, (Delta), Ben Ayade, (Cross River), Darius Ishaku, (Taraba),
\nIfeanyi Ugwuanyi, (Enugu), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gomber) are leading the pack
\ninsisting that the PDP Chairman must leave in May.<\/p>\n
Members of the Party\u2019s National Working Committee, NWC, led by Olisah
\nMetuh are also backing Sheriff while Chief Bode George, is leading the
\nSouth West PDP against Sheriff\u2019s ambition.<\/p>\n
Sources say Sheriff wants to remain Chairman of the PDP so as to be able
\nto emerge the Party\u2019s Presidential Candidate in 2019. He has equally
\npromised one of the Governor\u2019s from the South the Vice Presidential slot.<\/p>\n
PDP had zoned the Presidency to the North and Vice President to the
\nSouth-East ahead of the 2019 elections.<\/p>\n
The Governors of the PDP are expected to meet tonight in Abuja in what
\nsources say would be a make or mar meeting as the Party heads to its
\nNational Convention in May.<\/p>\n
Ahead of its convention, PDP had zoned the position of National Chairman
\nto the North, a move seen by some leaders as the handiwork of Sherriff who
\nwants to perpetuate his grip of the Chairmanship position.<\/p>\n
Pointblanknews.com gathered that the original game plan was for the South
\nWest to produce the National Chairman of the party but the Zoning
\nCommittee, led by Governor Udom, arm-twisted members of the committee to
\nzone the Chairmanship to the North to boost the chances of Sheriff.<\/p>\n
The situation has not gone down well with Party leaders who are insisting
\nthat Sherriff must be stopped from destroying the PDP with his ambition.<\/p>\n
Sources hinted Pointblanknews.com that to swell his camp, Sheriff had lied
\nto the leadership of the PDP and Governors that he is under pressure from
\nGeneral Ibrahim Babangida, Mallam Adamu Ciroma and some Northern leaders
\nto continue to lead the PDP.<\/p>\n
Shocked at the decision of Governor Olusegun Mimiko to join those opposing
\nhis plot to remain, sources told Pointblanknews.com that the embattled
\nChairman had invited the Ondo Governor for a meeting. At the meeting, he
\nhad told Mimiko that General Babangida and Ciroma are among those
\ninsisting he continues as PDP Chairman.<\/p>\n
The source who does not want to be named as he is not authorized to speak
\nto the press said as soon as the meeting between Sheriff and Mimiko was
\nover, the Ondo Governor quickly reached out to Babangida and Ciroma and to
\nhis shocking, they denied endorsing the former Borno Governor as PDP
\nChairman.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey (IBB and Ciroma) told Mimiko they never at any time supported
\nSherriff. They warned that so long as he remains as Chairman of the PDP,
\ndefectors and others who had left PDP won\u2019t return to the party,\u201d the
\nsource said.<\/p>\n
Sources confirmed to Pointblanknews.com that Sheriff has already entered a
\ndeal with the Governors, promising to hand over the Party structures in
\ntheir states to them should they see him through his plot to continue to
\nlead the PDP.<\/p>\n
The Governors would either use the State structures to seek a second term
\nor produce a successor, in what a source described as \u201ccontinuation of
\nimpunity\u201d within the PDP.<\/p>\n
The forum of Former Ministers under PDP, led by former Special Duties
\nminister, Saminu Turaki had pro\u00acposed that Senator Sheriff and other
\nmembers of the party\u2019s National Working Committee (NWC) be dis\u00acqualified.
\nThey noted that it would give the party a new beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn order to give the party a new lease of life, it is imperative that a
\nClause in the Guidelines for the 2016 National Convention should include a
\nprovision barring all those who have served the party especially during
\nthe immediate past tenure of the outgoing Na\u00actional Working Committee
\nmembers from contesting for any office of the party under the new
\ndispensa\u00action.\u201d<\/p>\n
In deference to the rec\u00acommendations of the Sena\u00actor Ike Ekweremadu Post
\nElection Review Commit\u00actee which recommended that the North should
\npro\u00acduce the party presiden\u00actial candidate in 2019, the Forum aligned
\nitself with it , but went further to pro\u00acpose that the North should
\nequally produce the Sen\u00acate President and Deputy Speaker.<\/p>\n
The Forum further pro\u00acposed to the Governor Udom Emmanuel Commit\u00actee that
\nthe South should produce the party national chairman in the next month
\nnational convention and produce Vice-President, Deputy Senate President
\nand Speaker of House of Representatives, in the event that the erstwhile
\nruling party wins the 2019 presidential elections.<\/p>\n
Other electives offices of the party it urged the Zon\u00acing Committee to
\nallot to the South include, the of\u00acfice of deputy national sec\u00acretary,
\nnational treasurer, national legal adviser, na\u00actional youth leader and
\nna-tional organising secretary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is currently on the brink of collapse as Governors on its platform are spoiling for war following plots by its Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n