Sheriff, Makarfi bicker over N50m subvention

The possibility of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) resolving its present crisis continues to be slimmer by the day as fresh issues worsening the already messy situation the party has had to contend with over leadership tussle creeps up by the day.

The new bone of contention between the party’s national chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and outlawed caretaker committee chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi is over a N50million monthly subvention from the party’s governors.

Sheriff on Monday alleged that Makarfi’s insistence on remaining PDP leader even after losing at the Appeal Court was because of the N50million monthly subvention he receives from PDP governors.

The former governor of Borno State made this allegation through his deputy national chairman Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, when he addressed newsmen at the party’s secretariat in Abuja.

Ojougboh, who said he was speaking at the instance of Sheriff and the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP, also said that the report of the Governor Dickson-led PDP National Reconciliation Committee, ‎which was rejected by Makarfi, was being studied by various organs of the party.

He said, “The reason the caretaker committee is protesting is that they have seen that the table is now crumbling fast under their feet.

“All the organs of the party are keying into the reconciliation and when the reconciliation pulls through, they are out and Makarfi can only come as member of the BoT; so, the N50million monthly subventions from governors will stop.

“They get subvention from PDP governors every month and when reconciliation happens, that subvention will stop.”

Reacting on the allegation, the spokesman of the Makarfi group Dayo Adeyeye, debunked the accusation, describing it as cheap blackmail and lies from the pit of hell.

Read also: Sheriff tells Prof Gana to halt his tours, stop speaking on behalf of PDP

“This is a lie from the pit of hell and a very cheap and unintelligent attempt at blackmail. It is a known fact by all critical stakeholders of the party and even the staff that the national caretaker committee have from inception been hamstrung by inadequate finance.

“So much so that simple secretariat duties have been a struggle while we have been unable to pay staff salaries of just N18million a month. Members of the National Caretaker Committee do not enjoy any remuneration.

“The governors are all alive and are free to come forward and declare publicly their level of contributions to the national caretaker committee since May 21, 2016”, Adeyeye said.

So far, the different efforts by different committees of the party and court rulings have failed to proffer solution to the PDP crisis.

 

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