The national caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of “contracting” Ali Modu Sheriff, former national chairman, to destroy the party before the 2019 elections.
The committee made this allegation in a statement on Tuesday.
In the statement signed by Dayo Adeyeye, its spokesman, the committee also claimed that the APC hired Sheriff to scuttle the chances of the party in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Edo state.
On Monday, Sheriff invaded the headquarters of the PDP where he was initially barred from entering, but he gained entrance into the complex much later.
The committee, which is chaired by Ahmed Makarfi , wondered why the police, which initially barred him from entering the complex, let him in later.
“Monday 13th June 2016, the former national chairman of the PDP, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, former national secretary, Olawole Oladipo and former national auditor, Alhaji Fatai Adeyanju accompanied by three lorry load of thugs sand bandits invaded the national secretariat of the PDP as early as 6:00am,” it said.
“When rumours of the planned invasion filtered out on Sunday, we took steps to alert the police to secure the building and to protect the lives and properties of members. Up to a point, the police discharged their responsibilities satisfactorily, however, later on without any justification whatsoever, Ali Modu Sheriff and other renegades were allowed to gain entry into the secretariat, where they later proceeded to address a press conference.
“While we are still trying to understand the role of the police in the entire saga, it is curious that the police made no arrest of the thugs who openly brandish various dangerous weapons in and around the premises of the secretariat in full glare of the police. It is also curious that the police claimed to be acting on ‘order from above’ in allowing Sheriff and his cohorts to gain entry into the secretariat. If we may ask, who is the authority that issued the ‘order from above?’
“What we are however very certain about is that Sheriff and his fellow renegades are being used by the enemies of PDP to destroy the party and to prevent it from re-organising itself, so as to provide a credible opposition and alternative platform for the forthcoming Edo state gubernatorial election and 2019 elections.
“The All Progressive Congress, APC, has contracted Sheriff and his cohorts to scuttle the chances of the PDP in the Edo governorship elections. We have credible intelligence that Sheriff had a meeting on Sunday night with an APC governor from northwest, where it was agreed that he will be given a full security and financial support to exacerbate the crisis in the PDP with the objective of preventing the PDP from presenting a candidate for the Edo state governorship election, or in the very least to prevent the PDP from offering a serious challenge to APC whose electoral fortunes has continued to nosedive.”
The current PDP leadership crisis started at its national convention in Port Harcourt-, where Sheriff fell out with leaders of the party.
The party dissolved its national working committee (NWC), which Sheriff led to set up a caretaker committee, thus setting the stage for the current crisis.
