The crisis in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party is getting messier, with the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, alleging that thd National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff is being sponsored by the All Progressives Congress (APC) even as Modu Sheriff also alleged that Wike gave former President Goodluck Jonathan N50 million to organise the recent stakeholders meeting in Abuja.
Governor Wike who spoke at a political rally to receives some APC members that decamped to the PDP, at the Sharks Stadium in Port Harcourt, further alleged that the Federal Government is sponsoring Sheriff to cause crisis within the ranks of the former ruling party.
The governor said that despite Federal Government’s move at destabilising the party, PDP will “continue to wax strong.”
“Sheriff is a mole of the APC who is being sponsored by the Federal Government. They are sponsoring Sheriff because of the crisis in the APC.
“The APC has nothing to tell Rivers people on why they should remain in that party. After two years, there is no single Federal Government project in the state.”
And at a news briefing at the party’s secretariat on Thursday by his deputy, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, Sheriff said that governors Wike and Fayose recruited the Jonathan into a fake peace effort pre-determined to scuttle ongoing peace initiative in the party.
“The result is that President Jonathan was lured into committing a serious breach of protocol that led to the failure of the exercise which was the intended outcome.”
According to Sheriff , Wike and businessman, Chief Raymond Dokpesi have already established their own political party, and that their mission was to tie the PDP down with undue controversies.
He said that the party is worried that the amount of money Wike was spending on the crisis could smear the image of the PDP, saying: “this money belongs to the people of Rivers State and it should not be misappropriated at the expense of the people to whom it rightfully belonged.
“We therefore call on party leaders and Nigerians to refrain from accepting these monies from Governor Wike in line with the spirit of our founding fathers.”
Sheriff restated his determination to go ahead with the plans to organize a convention for the party, saying preparations for a free and fair convention were in top gear even as he directed state chapter chairmen of the PDP to forward to the party secretariat the lists of all statutory delegates to the convention on or before April 27.
He said that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party would hold on May 3. [myad]
