The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Caretaker Committee said the party would not hold any national convention under the leadership of Ali Modu Sheriff
The publicity secretary of the committee, Dayo Adeyeye, told journalists on Thursday in Abuja that the party could not trust Mr. Sheriff with its leadership.
He added that given the “lawless and untoward behaviour of Sheriff so far”, it appeared that there would be no meeting point in resolving PDP crisis.
Mr. Adeyeye, who described the Sheriff–led National Working Committee (NWC) as illegal, urged him to immediately stop operating on behalf of the party.
Mr. Adeyeye also urged Mr. Sheriff to stop parading himself as acting national chairman of PDP following the judgment of an Abuja High Court delivered by Justice Valentine Ashi on June 29, 2016.
The court judgement, according to Mr. Adeyeye, nullified the 2014 Amendment to the PDP Constitution that produced Mr. Sheriff as acting national chairman of the PDP adding that the judgement was never appealed.
Mr. Adeyeye added that there was another valid judgment delivered on Aug. 17, 2016 by Justice Nwamaka Ogbonnaya of the FCT High Court in Abuja which re-affirmed the “sack” of Mr. Sheriff as PDP Chairman.
He explained that the Feb. 17 Court of Appeal judgement that nullified the National convention of May 21, 2016 limits itself solely on the legality or otherwise of the national convention.
“The judgement is not on the legality or otherwise of the appointment Sheriff as the Acting National Chairman of the PDP,” he said.
Mr. Adeyeye stated that Mr. Sheriff “and his co-travellers” were in defiant of the Court of Appeal Judgment which they seem to enjoy.
“For emphasis, the judgment declared Status Quo Ante May 21, 2016; and Sheriff is in gross violation of it having appointed persons from the comfort of his bedroom to fill purported vacancies,’’ he said.
Mr. Adeyeye said that apart from the fact that Mr. Sheriff was functioning illegally at the party’s national secretariat, by working with only three NWC, he did not have the required number of NWC to form quorum.
He, therefore, advised PDP leaders, other members and teeming supporters to boycott proposed congress by Mr. Sheriff led NWC in Oyo, Kwara, Sokoto, Lagos and Anambra states, respectively.
“Let the public note that this proposal is illegal by an illegal leadership of the Party that is in gross violation of the Constitution of the PDP and the Order of Courts.
“All further actions taken by him and his illegal team will be challenged in Court and cannot stand,’’ he said.
Mr. Adeyeye, speaking on the party’s standing Reconciliation Committee chaired by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, said such committee was no longer in existence.
He said the committee, alongside three other committees approved by the party’s 69th National Executive Committee (NEC) in 2016 prior to the May 21, 2016 national convention, had ceased to function after the convention.
The committees, he said, were National Convention Planning Committee, Reconciliation Committee, Finance Committee; and the Zoning Committee.
“However, we respect our Gov. Dickson and acknowledge his efforts towards holding the next National Convention but he acted hastily and presented the proposal in error to Sheriff,” he said.