- as Fayose rejects Sheriff’s request to nominate Governors
By ADEWUMI ADEMIJU, Ado-Ekiti
The raging crisis in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has deepened with the decision of Governor of Ekiti State, and Chairman of the Governors’ Forum of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ayo Fayose, to reject the request from factional chairman of the party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, to nominate governors to attend a proposed national convention of the party.
It would be recalled that the PDP recently broke into two factional leadership caucuses, Sherif’fs and Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi’s led faction, to which Fayose belongs. Efforts to get the two factions to reconcile have since continued to fail. But Sheriff, relying on his validation as the leader of the party by the Appeal Court, has proposed a national convention of the party.
While the Makarfi faction has appealed the judgement at the Supreme Court, Fayose in response to Sherif’s request declared that he does not recognize him (Sheriff) as the chairman of the party and would not want to have anything to do with him.
Sheriff had written to Governor Fayose requesting him to nominate governors of the party who would attend the convention, in a letter dated March 29, 2017, and signed by one Prof. Wole Oladipo, identified in the letter as the National Secretary of the party.
Fayose, while replying Sheriff, in his letter dated April 4, 2017, and entitled: “Re-nomination of Governors For the National Convention”, said: “I received your letter dated March 29, 2017 and signed by one Prof. Wole Oladipo who claims to be the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party requesting me as the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum to send list of governors for your proposed convention.
“I wish to state that, I, Ayo Fayose, do not recognize you as the party’s national chairman and will not have anything to do with you.
“I don’t have interest in a kangaroo convention being remote-controlled by the APC-led Federal Government.
“You are, therefore, advised to leave me out of any arrangement in which you are being portrayed as the leader of the party.
“I will not welcome any further correspondence from Ali Modu Sheriff faction because I’m not interested in the so-called convention”, Fayose said.