People’s Democratic Party, PDP chairman, Senator Modu Sheriff on Thursday stormed out of a meeting organized by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to solve the leadership crisis plaguing the party.
Senator Sheriff said he walked out on former President Goodluck Jonathan at a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja because he was not properly recognised as the national chairman.
He said: “I respect Dr. Jonathan. He is a former President but as of today, I’m the most senior member of this party. Therefore, if I respect him, the respect must be reciprocated.
“You can’t call me for a meeting of PDP and say I cannot address the meeting as national chairman of the party. We are here for PDP stakeholders’ meeting and the PDP has only one national chairman, which is Ali Modu Sheriff. There is no PDP meeting that will take place under whatever arrangement that I will not open the session as national chairman. Today, I’m the most senior member of this party.
“I think Governor Seriake Dickson made a proposal for reconciliation. And we have accepted. Some people want to deviate from this programme, to bring agenda which was not part of it. And as national chairman of the party, what I have told you people in my office when Dickson brought the report is the only thing that we have agreed at this moment. And I will not be party for anybody using me for another programme. I’m not going to be part of it.”
At the meeting were Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Walid Jibrin, Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Governors Nyesom Wike (Rivers); Ayo Fayose (Ekiti) ; Darius Ishaku (Taraba); deputy governors of Gombe and Ebonyi states, former members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), including Uche Secondus; Olisa Metuh; Abubakar Mustapha; Abdullahi Maibasira, and other party leaders.
Sheriff’s action came as a rude shock to National Executive Committee members present.
Some of them followed him to pacify him but he refused to return to the meeting.