PDP Convention Will Go On As Planned, Sheriff Is An Interloper – Ihedioha

SAN FRANCISCO, August 10, (THEWILL) – The Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Wednesday, declared that nothing would stop it from proceeding with the conduct of the party's National Convention scheduled for August 17, 2016 in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

This was disclosed to newsmen by a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chairman, Rivers State Adhoc Ward/National Delegate Congress, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, who explained that he was in Rivers State to ensure a peaceful ward congress.

Stressing that the PDP was confident that the convention would hold, he stated that the party would not be distracted by agents of destabilisation, who were bent on going against the ideals of the party.

It would be recalled that Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja had recently sacked the Makarfi-led committee as illegally constituted, even as it upheld Sheriff as the national chairman of the party. He maintained that only actions and decisions made by the Sheriff-led leadership are lawful and binding.

Ruling that the Makarfi-led committee was illegally constituted, the Judge held that it lacked the powers to conduct any function on behalf of the party. It also barred the Caretaker committee from conducting a fresh National Convention for the party.

Abang stated that although he has the powers to nullify the ruling of the Port Harcourt division of the Federal High Court, which recognized the Makarfi-led leadership, he would not do so because there is no application to that effect before him. Hence, he would allow the Court of Appeal to do justice to that.

But Ihedioha, who described the factional chairman of the PDP, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as an interloper, disclosed that the former Borno governor reneged on his pledge to be the acting chairman of the party for only three months.

According to him, “We will be focused and confident that the National Convention of the PDP will hold. Everybody is on speed gear. We cannot be distracted by agents that are against the ideals of our party.

“Sheriff is an interloper. No one has the authority to say that he has cancelled or suspended the convention. Decisions were taken at a National Convention that was held in Port Harcourt. The party constitution is supreme.”