Dr Cairo Ojougboh is the deputy national chairman of the Senator Ali
Modu Sheriff-led faction of the People Democratic Party, (PDP). In this
interview, the former national vice-chairman, South-south justifies the
claim of the former Borno State governor to the office of national
chairman of the main opposition party in the country.
Ordinary PDP faithful are worried over the unnerving development in the
party. Senator Sheriff insists he is the legitimate chairman, while
Senator Ahmed Makarfi caretaker committee , a creation of the national
convention lay claim to the same office. Is there a solution to the
leadership impasse?
Yes, of course tAhere is. It is either the political option is fully
and completely exhausted in which case, at the end of the day, the whole
party would have been destroyed.
The party destroyed?
Of course! If you follow the legal option— from court of first instance
to the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court, it will take at least two,
three years, and by that time, we would have lost 2019, or another party
would have emerged because if that happens, the party emerging would
be weak, PDP would be weak and APC would be stronger.
So, the way out is very simple: political solution.
So, what is the political solution?
At the Taraba governors’ meeting, I was there at the meeting. At that
meeting, at about 3 am, a decision was taken that Sheriff, governor of
Bayelsa, Seriake Dickson and Nyesom Wike, the Rivers state governor and
Darius Ishaku and Ibrahim Dankwabbo, governors of Taraba and Gombe –
five of them should retire, because the meeting wasn’t making any
headway, to retire to a separate room and look at the matter
holistically, and come to report to the house.
After two hours, they came out and everybody was happy that they have
found a solution. So, the meeting closed to reconvene in the morning
because they have planned a stakeholders’ meeting. At the five wise men
meeting, Sheriff put forward a proposal; what he put forward which was
accepted by everybody, including Governor Wike. It was Wike who said
they were going to send for Makarfi and tell him to resign, so that the
caretaker committee will bring 10 people, Sheriff will bring 10 people
and they will form a common convention committee.
But that has been dismissed as tall demand by the Makarfi team. They
are saying their committee was a creation of the highest organ of the
party, the national convention?
Well, we shall know what is the national convention very soon. So,
everybody was happy and we thought a solution has been found. In the
morning, against the agreement and everything that was finalized,
Makarfi bluntly refused and said he wasn’t going to step down. Sheriff
has agreed and that would have been the solution. But of course, you
know how power intoxicates and that’s how we lost the opportunity to
settle this issue and the court cases continue and of course, by the
Justice Abang’s ruling, it is very explicit.
The man wasn’t speaking with water in his mouth and he put it down in
black and white. That one, Sheriff remains the chairman of the party
and two, that the Port Harcourt court has no right whatsoever to
entertain that suit having been aware of two rulings in Lagos and that
the Port Harcourt court even admitted that it was aware of those two
cases in Lagos and then went ahead to sit on it. That it was a total
miscarriage of justice, it was impunity personified. It also went ahead
to say that whatever the caretaker committee has done is illegal, null
and void. This isn’t just a court of coordinate jurisdiction but a court
that has initially ruled that it is only Sheriff as the chairman of the
party that can submit nominations for Ondo and Edo states. If not for
the impunity, how can civilized people, very educated senior citizens
hear this pronouncement of court and would still wear their suits and
dress up and boast that they are going ahead for the convention! When it
has been stated that there is res pendis, which means that nobody
should disturb the res, nobody should disturb the situation. In fact,
anything the caretaker committee does is illegal, null and void.
If we pursue it to the Court of Appeal, I assure you that the judges,I
am not trying to pre-empt them, but I know we have very erudite judges
in the Court of Appeal and they have conscience.
Some people have made the observation that Sheriff was nominated to
complete the tenure of Adamu Muazu, the erstwhile chairman from
North-East; that there was no convention that produced Sheriff as
substantive national chairman. How do you react to this?
Now, there are two issues here. The NEC of the party has voted for
Sheriff to be chairman and based on the Constitution of the party, that
if a chairman resigns or quits office, somebody from that zone will be
elected at NEC to continue until the term of the chairman expires. In
2014, when Jonathan was elected, at the party’s convention before that
election, there was an election for the chairmanship position that
election was to confirm. So, there was an election and from that date,
the tenure of the man who was confirmed as chairman is for four years.
So, from 2014-2018, is the tenure of Muazu and that’s what Sheriff is
supposed to complete.
However, of course as you know, Sheriff was on his own when after he was
given three months to go and conduct a convention, he got ready to
conduct it, that he would vacate office because he didn’t want to stay.
It was the same governors who begged him to come and contest; that the
way he has revived the party, that it was astonishing. It was the same
governors who came to him that he should contest. He didn’t say no, I
wouldn’t contest, my tenure ends in 2015. He bought form, went for
screening. So, what is their problem? Did he say he must leave in 2018?
They were the ones who asked him to come, they were the ones who asked
him to contest again. He didn’t want to contest. Now, because he
refused to do their bidding, they now said he must go.
They have a predetermined presidential candidate, they have a
predetermined chairman of the party that they want. They know what they
want to go and do in Port Harcourt.
There was a particular meeting where BoT members walked out on the
governors because of Sheriff. How come he is now attributing impunity to
the same forces that propped him up?
Very good. Sheriff is agent of change and God doesn’t make mistakes. The
God that brought Sheriff brought him for a purpose: to wash away
impunity out of PDP, to purify the party, and as change agent,
circumstances and conditions bring them up. If God didn’t approve that
Sheriff would be chairman, he couldn’t have been chairman, because
nothing is possible without God. And the party, the way it is going, it
is very clear that God is on the side of Sheriff. That is why we are
saying, look, let Sheriff reposition the party, bring in everybody and
let us move on. Sheriff isn’t saying I must be chairman. No, he hasn’t
said so. So, where has he gone wrong? All my battles in life have been
for others, I don’t fight for myself and anytime I see anybody being
oppressed, I fight for the person.
But at what point did Sheriff fall out with the governors?
When they went to Port Harcourt, he now made them to understand that
there are a lot of problems in all these states, why don’t we look at
these problems. Some people annexed some other states. So, he said the
party cannot move forward like this. Let us sit down and look at some of
these. That was all! They now said Sheriff has said that he was going
to look into congresses. That’s where problem started, nothing more.
That was his offence. They also said Sheriff promised everybody
president. A man who doesn’t even want to be chairman of the party, is
he the one looking for the presidency? They just cooked all cock and
bull story! He has never told anybody that he wants to be president.
When I heard the rumour, I went to him and confronted him; he said no; that it has never occurred to him.
Look, Dr Raymond Dokpesi that is campaigning around and says he want to
be chairman, he went to Sheriff to say he wanted to be chairman and
Sheriff told him that the office is in the North now and the governors
have said I should contest and I have agreed to contest. He told
Dokpesi, why don’t you wait, let us build this party, of course the
Vice-president might be going to the South. Why don’t you wait and
become the Vice-president? That was Sheriff’s offence.
With the raging crisis, it may truncate your party’s chances in the forthcoming Edo and Ondo governorship elections.
The Makarfi team is saying your faction is being used to play the
spoiler role, allegedly being used by the ruling party. What is your
reaction to this insinuation?
Look, can’t you see that, in the whole of this crisis, what is the
position of INEC, what is the position of police. If APC was supporting
Sheriff, even with our court judgment, we would have occupied the
secretariat. With the court judgment, the police would have opened our
office for us.
So, if APC is supporting Sheriff, of course, we would have gotten all
the things we want. But to be honest with you and that’s why I
appreciate the president, as I speak you know that the APC hasn’t
interfered in our crisis but even Makarfi has said he doesn’t believe
that APC is involved in this matter. He said so. If he can say that,
then why would people now say that it is APC supporting Sheriff? They
should be fair to this man; you don’t give a dog a bad name to hang it.
By Ogodogun Oghenekevwe
The Spain international has fallen down the pecking order at Stamford
Bridge and could make a surprise switch to Serie A for the rest of the
season.
