The emergence of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the new chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has deepened the party’s internal crisis as some members have insisted that he is not the right choice.
This is just as some ex-minister have risen against former President Goodluck Jonathan for backing Sheriff’s emergence.
It was gathered that no fewer than 15 ex-ministers in Jonathan’s cabinet met last night in Asokoro, vowing to resist the Sheriff’s imposition.
The ministers’ session, the Nation reports lasted till about 8.30pm.
It was learnt that Dr. Jonathan has called to congratulate Sheriff who he allegedly described as “the right choice for the opposition”.
A top source said: “Jonathan believes that Sheriff has the guts, influence, native wisdom to lead PDP to displace the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Jonathan and the governors teamed up to choose Sheriff who was part of the leaders who coordinated the merger of parties into the APC.
“Their aim is to have an opposition with much bite in the light of the way the APC government is exposing Jonathan’s tenure.
“They are looking at the rough side of politics towards 2019 and they think Sheriff can withstand the APC.”
A source at the ex-ministers’ session said: “We are parting ways with ex-President Jonathan if he is adamant on Sheriff. The battle line is drawn. We respect our principal, but he got it wrong this time around.
“We do not need Sheriff to reform PDP. And he cannot actually lead the party for some obvious reasons. He is not a team player and he has many controversies surrounding his style of politics.
“We knew the NWC and the governors have a different agenda. With Sheriff, the PDP cannot go far in 2019. Jonathan and these leaders should listen to the Board of Trustees (BOT) members.
“Jonathan can afford to take the risk with Sheriff because he has reached a dead end politically. We will not allow the ex-President to ruin our own future. Public perception does not favour Sheriff.”
The spokesman for former ministers in Jonathan’s administration, Dr. Suleiman Abubakar, in a terse statement in Abuja, said: “Our rescue mission has failed, the redemption boat has capsized and our journey to recovery has come to an end.
“Whosoever partook in the decision does not mean well for the party and democracy in Nigeria. It is obvious the fifth columnists have hijacked the party and they are hell bent on sinking it deeper into irrecoverable level of the pit.
“Some of us would rather review our membership than subject ourselves to selfish interests of a cabal whose main goal is political profiteering, after all, our umbilical cord is not tied to any party.”
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