Appeal Court finally settles PDP leadership controversy, says Sheriff is original Chairman

*Bode George reacts as Fayose promises appeal in Supreme Court

The Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, Rivers State has said that former Borno State Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, is the lawful chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The judgment was given on Friday, February 17, by three judges of the court in a unanimous decision, The DEFENDER reports.

A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, in July 2016, declared that Makarfi was the party’s rightful chairman leading Sheriff to appeal the decision.

The three justices on the Appeal Court panel are, Hon. Justice A A B Gumel, who’s the chairman, Justice T.N. Orji-Abadua and Hon. Justice B.S. Sanga.

The PDP has been split into two factions since it attempted to remove Sheriff as Chairman in May 2016.

One faction is led by Sheriff while the other is led by former Kaduna State governor, Ahmed Makarfi.

Sheriff had said, on Tuesday, February 14, 2017, that any chairman apart from him was a “counterfeit” one.

“Any other chairman is a counterfeit, a carbon-copy, a photocopy. I was eating and drinking in the comfort of my home when the elders and the leaders of the party from across the country came to beg me to take the mantle of leadership of the party,” he said.

“They later found out that I was not a chairman they can control or push around. They know I will not accept elections handouts from anybody, hence they made a U-turn,” he added.

Former President, Goodluck Jonathan only last week said that the PDP was still Nigeria’s biggest and strongest party.

Bode George reacts to judgment

Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George was shocked at the Court of Appeal judgement in Port Harcourt, affirming Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the authentic chairman of the PDP, saying the judgement spelt doom for democracy.

“My spirit has never been this dampened,” George said of the ruling.

He said, “I was shocked. Shocked is the minimum I could say. It is worse than being shocked. My immediate conclusion was that this is the voice of Jacob and the hand of Esau.”

George said court justices have murdered democracy for setting aside the convention held in Port Harcourt where the National Caretaker Committee headed by Senator Ahmed Makarfi was appointed.

…Reinstating Sheriff as PDP Chairman rape on democracy – Fayose

The Chairman of the Governors Forum of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the Appeal Court, Port Harcourt judgment reinstating Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff as National Chairman of the party, as a `rape on democracy’.

Ayo Fayose, who is also Ekiti State Governor, made the remark in Abuja on Friday while reacting to the outcome of the judgment.

According to Fayose, the judgment was against the will of the people.

The Ekiti State governor, however, said that the party would appeal the judgment in the Supreme Court.

The Appeal Court in Port Harcourt in a ruling Friday nullified PDP National Convention held in the Rivers capital in May 2016.

The court also nullified the National Caretaker Committee of the party constituted at the convention, and held that Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff remains the National Chairman of PDP.

Two out of the three-member Appeal Court, Justice B.G. Sanga and Justice A. Gumel, in their judgment said the Port Harcourt convention on May 21, 2016, was an abuse of court process.

Delivering the lead judgment, Sanga said that PDP did not follow the provisions of Article 47(3) of its Constitution in the removal of the Sherrif-led National Working Committee.