Politics
PDP zones chairman to south, as Makarfi replaces Sheriff
Confusion reigned at the botched national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Port Harcourt as the national chairman of the party was technically shoved aside, and replaced with Sen. Ahmed Makarfi.
A former governor of Niger State, Alhaji Babangida Aliyu said that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party has been dissolved.
He stated that former governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Makarfi was appointed to head a seven-man committee that will oversee the affairs of the party for not more than three months, and organise a national convention.
Also picked was Senator Ben Obi, who was named the National Secretary of the party.
Aliyu also stated, that the party’s chairmanship has been zoned to the southern part of the country.
Governors elected on the party’s platform insisted on continuing with the convention despite an announcement of its cancellation by the now former National Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff.
It would be recalled that Sheriff had earlier announced the cancellation of the convention on the grounds that a court order had barred the party from conducting election into some key national offices.
Sheriff has had a bumpy ride since taking over as the National Chairman of the party, tearing the party into factions.
He has however been able to hold on due to the strong backing he got from the governors. The turn around of the governors may signal a bitter end to his bumpy ride, as the governors constitute a formidable power block in the party.
It would also be recalled that a faction of the party, Concerned PDP Stakeholders, led by a former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, earlier in the day held its own version of a national convention in Abuja.
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