At a time when the party is supposed to ensure unification of all members and work harmoniously to ensuring it seize power from the disunited ruling party, the All progressives Congress, APC, come 2019, the dying Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, instead resolved to expel all members, including Chief Olabode George, Doyin Okupe, other Southwest leaders who are opposed to the emergence of former Borno Governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as its national.
Led by Chief Bode George, the southwest leaders have threatened to quit the party should it national chairmanship not zoned to the region. The threat the PDP has already ignored and zoned the position to the northeast to suit Sheriff's continuing chairmanship
Report by Daily Independent says a national officer of the party from the South-South said aside expelling those labelled as ‘anti- Sheriff elements’ in the party, the party is also plotting to amend the constitution of the party to suit the desires of those who wanted Sheriff to remain in office beyond May.
While accusing Sheriff of using money to buy key members of the party to his side, he said the leadership of the party is also plotting to remove the board of trustees (BoT) from the National Executive Council of the party.
It would be recalled that members of the BoT had opposed Ali Modu-Sheriff’s nomination as national chairman and had promised to kick against plans to elongate his tenure in office beyond May 21.
According to our source, “There is a grand plan by the national leadership of the party to expel those who have been labelled as ‘anti-Sheriff elements’ from the party. They are also planning to amend the constitution to consolidate on their grip.
“They are trying to amend the constitution as regards (1) nomination of presidential candidate by the PDP and (2) position of the board of trustees from the National Executive Council. They want to remove BoT from NEC. We are even told that they have promised some people chairmanship of the BoT and that they want to review the BoT so that they can do whatever they like,” the source claimed.
Also speaking on the alleged plans by the South West caucus of the PDP to boycott the party, a former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, said the South West caucus would soon take a decision on the matter and make its position known in a matter of days.
While accusing Sheriff and his supporters of trying to hijack the party, he said they will not leave the party they struggled to build for strangers but rather genuine members of the party will come together and flush the intruders out.
“On whether the South West caucus will leave the PDP in protest, we have not reached that position for now. We are still talking with other PDP members who are not toeing the line of Ali Modu-Sheriff and his corrupt band of supporters who have seized the machinery of the party in order to destroy the party. When we get to that position, we will let the world know.
“But I know that a small clique of people cannot hijack and try to destroy the party. We are even told that they are trying to review the constitution of the party to suit their evil purposes. I know that at a particular time, all reasonable members of the party will rise up, come together and flush them out. We will not leave the party for them because they met us in the party. They will leave the party for us,” he said.
“I have nothing against Ali Modu-Sheriff. I know him very well. We were in the same party before, which is the UNCP. The man was never a member of the PDP. He was in the ANPP and we are being told that he is connected to President Muhammadu Buhari by marriage. His son is married to Buhari’s daughter.
“We don’t know his mission in the party. He came to replace Mu’azu and he promised that he is going to leave office by 21st of May. Now, he is saying he doesn’t want to go. Some people are even saying that he wants to be the presidential candidate of the party in 2019. So, we don’t want to be caught by surprise and we don’t want some people to come and destroy our party,” he added.
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