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Tag: makarfi

  • JUST IN: PDP Crisis: S’Court rule in favour of Makarfi

    The Supreme Court on Monday struck out application by the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ali Modu Sheriff, seeking to stop the party’s appeal against him.

    The Justice Walter Onnoghen-led court consequently granted the appeal filed by the sacked Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party, Ahmed Makarfi on behalf of PDP.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that a Port Harcourt Appeal Court had affirmed Sheriff as the authentic Chairman of the former ruling party, while sacking the Makarfi’s committee.

     

    Details shortly…

  • PDP factions in war of words as Supreme court hears appeal today

    The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has said the Supreme Court should not hear an appeal filed by the sacked National Caretaker Committee of the party led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi.

    Although, hearing in the appeal is slated to take place before the Supreme Court on Monday (today), the Sheriff-leadership of the party has asked the apex court to strike out the appeal, marked SC/133/2017.

    The Makarfi-faction filed the appeal on February 27, 2017 against the February 17, 2017 judgment of the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal which sacked their caretaker committee.

    But Sheriff, as the National Chairman of the party, and Prof. Wale Oladipo (as the Secretary), prayed for the striking out of the appeal in their written argument accompanying an application which they filed on March 21, 2017.

    The written submission was filed on May 10, 2017, in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directive made during the proceedings of May 4, 2017.

    The applicants argued that having been declared illegal by the February 17, 2017 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, Makarfi and members of the sacked committee lacked the powers to take decisions for the party, including initiating court proceedings in its name.

    Sheriff and Oladipo maintained that the PDP, under the current leadership, was comfortable with the judgment of the Court of Appeal and did not intent to challenge it.

    Their retinue of lawyers, led by Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who filed the court processes on their behalf, argued that since the Court of Appeal, in its February 17, 2017 judgment, declared the Sheriff-led National Working Committee as the authentic leadership organ of the PDP, the Makarfi-led committee could no longer pursue an appeal in the name of the party.

    The Sheriff-led PDP leadership argued that the decision of the Makarfi committee to file an appeal in the name of the PDP without its (the party’s) authorisation was not only illegal, it violated the party’s constitution.

    They cited the provisions of Chapter 5, Articles 35(1), 36(1) and 42(1) of the PDP constitution to back their position.

    They stated, “The decision of the Port Harcourt division of the Court of Appeal cited above (that nullified the ‘National Convention’ of the 21/5/2016, as well as the appointment of the ‘National Caretaker Committee’) and the order made therein for status quo as of May 18, 2016, judgment of Justice Mohammad in Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/1443/20l6, to be reverted to by parties, are still valid and subsisting, and as such, are not only binding on the parties and their privies, but also on the courts including the Supreme Court.

    “In the circumstances, we humbly urge that these orders be given effect by recognising that only the National Executive Committee of the PDP, as represented by its National Chairman (Sheriff), National Secretary (Oladipo) and National Legal Adviser can act for the PDP to prosecute this appeal and to instruct counsel to act on behalf of the PDP.”

    The Sheriff-led PDP leadership noted that it had not, by its argument, said the Makarfi Committee could not appeal the May 17 judgment of the Appeal Court, having been parties in the case from the trial court, it (the Makarfi Committee) or its members could only appeal as interested parties after first obtaining the court’s leave to so appeal.

    In a counter-argument, the Makarfi committee’s group of lawyers, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), urged the court to discountenance the Sheriff leadership’s arguments and proceed to hear its appeal.

    In its reply of argument, dated May 15, 2017, the Makarfi committee queried the legitimacy of the application filed by the Sheriff-leadership and argued that it was not only strange, but intended to frustrate the hearing of the main appeal.

    It argued that it was wrong for Sheriff and others, who had briefed Akin Olujinmi (SAN) to represent them in the substantive appeal and had filed a respondents’ brief, in which they also made similar arguments in relation to the competence of the appeal, to go ahead to brief Fagbemi to ask the court not to hear the appeal but to strike it out.

    Relying on Order 8 Rule 6 (1), (2) and (4) of the Supreme Court’s Rules, the Makarfi faction faulted the March 15, 2017 letter of the Sheriff-led NEC, applying to withdraw the appeal and the subsequent application for it to be struck out.

    It argued that since the appeal was not filed by Sheriff and others, they lacked the right to apply to withdraw it.

    In a response on point of law, filed by Fagbemi on May 18, the Sheriff-led NEC faulted all legal arguments by the Makarfi committee, urging the court to discountenance its contention and hold that it lacked the locus standi to file an appeal in the name of the PDP having been sacked by a subsisting judgment.

  • Sheriff, Makarfi congratulate Ekweremadu as he clocks 55

    The Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff and Senator Ahmed Makarfi led factiosn of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have congratulated Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, on his 55th birth anniversary.

    In separate messages, National Chairman of the party, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff and the Chairman, National Caretaker Committee, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, on Friday in Abuja, felicitated with Ekweremadu.

    Makarfi, in a statement by the committee’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Dayo Adeyeye, commended Ekweremadu for his “outstanding contributions to the development of the legislature and the country”.

    He described him as a “fighter for good causes”.

    “We are indeed proud of his achievements as one of the pillars of the PDP, working with all the stakeholders to revive, rejuvenate and move the party to greater heights.

    “We believe in his leadership qualities and urge him to continue with his services to humanity,” Makarfi added, and wished Ekweremadu good health, long life and more years of fruitful service to Nigeria.

    Similarly, in a statement by Dr Cairo Ojougboh, his deputy, Sheriff said Ekweremadu was a true democrat and a man of honour.

    Sheriff said that the PDP was very proud of the way Ekweremadu had carried himself in the Senate.

    “He brought a wealth of experience into the 8th Assembly.

    “He is a stabilizing force in the Senate, who has helped to streamline difficult issues in the upper chamber of the National Assembly.”(NAN)

  • Makarfi PDP faction as the real terror group

    Makarfi PDP faction as the real terror group

    By Richard Murphy

    It takes morbid callousness or an unrivalled level of ignorance or a combination of both to attempt the stunt by a faction of the troubled People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in its reaction to the release of 82 of the abducted Chibok girls.

    A statement credited to the spokesperson for the Ahmed Makarfi PDP faction, Dayo Adeyeye, apparently has issues with the swapping of the some Boko Haram prisoners for the girls.

    Assessed on the template of beer parlour debate, the PDP faction has some points going for it. It contended that it is against the international principle of never negotiating with terrorists, would embolden Boko Haram to extract more concessions from the Federal Government and would encourage the terrorists to carry out more abductions. It is also worried that the released prisoners would be back in terrorists camps to possibly stage more attacks or worse still they would be free to roam the streets and recruit more fighters. Added to these, the faction of PDP somehow developed the empathy to articulate how the release of these 82 girls would affect the families whose members are still in captivity.

    These arguments however fall flat once taken away from the realm of drinking joints where the average right thinking person is able to humanly and humanely look at issues without the benefit of confounding fumes. The situation at hand requires the clearest of thinking to appreciate what has happened with the benefit of foresight and hindsight and not just responding out of reflex.

    That is what is expected of all rational Nigerians at this moment as only such appreciation would have made the greatest critics of the Nigerian Federal Government to commend the release of the girls without bothering about the cost at which their freedom was secured.

    The Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) Group, which has been at the forefront of demanding action from the government on the girls’ release was ecstatic at the news that 82 girls have been freed. The group was elated six months ago when the first batch of 21 girls were released and judging from its reaction its appreciation was four-folds for the second batch of 82 girls.

    Even the usually antagonistic Amnesty International (AI) which saw nothing good about the monumental efforts of our gallant troops to redeem the country from terrorists, had positive things to say about the release of the girls. Where the safety and freedom of the abducted girls is concerned, swapping ten terrorists in detention for one girl is justifiable as the country would have saved one person from a harsh fate by so doing. That said, the claim of this factional PDP must be addressed so that it does not continue to have the misplaced impression that it can ride on a wave of populism to worm its way back into public acceptance on the wrong premise.
    Unfortunately, the PDP was trying to create unnecessary fear over the tendency for terrorists’ to re-offend upon being freed, recidivism. The faction however failed to point out that terrorists that re-offend are most likely to get killed when they return to a life of crime. This is not counting the fact that those likely to succumb to recidivism constitute a fraction of those that regain freedom. Re-offending is also not limited to terrorists, other criminals re-offend too. And now that the PDP has drawn our attention to it, another chance to this gang of politicians will see them re-offend by again looting the country and providing inept leadership.
    Suddenly the PDP, which committed its years in power to creating the hydra-headed Boko Haram is now aware of international principles. It is now enlightened to the point of knowing that it is not globally acceptable to negotiate with terrorists.

    The claim in this regard is ridiculous because it was the PDP, in the era of Alex Badeh as Chief of Defence Staff, that was busy declaring ceasefires each time it was supposed to strike a final blow against the terrorists. It was the PDP that employed the tired cliché of order from above to free the earliest Boko Haram suspects at a time when there were no civilian hostages to be freed. It was the PDP that paid huge amounts to terrorists for failed ceasefires only for Boko Haram to use the funds to procure sophisticated weapons. Someone must therefore tell the PDP that this swap is not the same as the charade that went on in their own time.

    It is exceedingly naïve to tout the concept of not negotiating with terrorists without recognizing the trade-offs. Countries that do not negotiate with terrorists tend to exterminate the captives with their captors. The PDP wants the government to pulverize the abducted girls with the Boko Haram captors! The girls were taken under PDP’s watch and they never thought to murder them at that time but they now want another government to have the blood of the innocent on its hands.

    These desperadoes must ask themselves probing questions and answer sincerely. They should ask if the APC government has not demonstrated that governance is about the people no matter how mad they chose to be in a democracy? How many Nigerians initially held hostage by the terrorists from the PDP era have been freed today? The latter question has to do with deliberate omission by the PDP in its statement to recognize that there are other hostages that do not have the Chibok Girls’ celebrity status, who have been freed through government intervention.

    As for the families that will be traumatized seeing other girls returned when theirs are still in captivity, the PDP faction should have seen this as another opportunity at great reflection at the damage they inflicted, not just on the grieving families but on the entire nation. Their years of misrule and kleptocracy was the catalyst for the poverty that became the precursor for the growth of extremism and subsequently terrorism. The faction should visit these families and apologize for everything it failed to do while in power and the one it did wrong.
    The factional PDP disagreement with negotiating to secure the release of the abducted girl is noted but should be taken with a pinch of salt. One must however wonder if this stance would be the case had the girls languishing in Boko Haram captivity were the children of those in that faction. It is one thing to reject an option; in this case negotiating the girls’ freedom, it is another thing to come up with viable alternatives to what is being rejected.
    Since negotiating or swapping Boko Haram prisoners is not acceptable, what other options is the PDP giving us? It has none. This is sad. Could the be so bereft of ideas to this extent?

    By trying to blackmail the government to leave the Chibok Girls in Boko Haram’s camps the Makarfi PDP faction has proven it is desirous of continuing to terrorize Nigerians. It is the only incentive it could have for trying to keep the girls imprisoned. In the last part of its 16 years of misrule, the then President Goodluck Jonathan admitted that Boko Haram
    party, the PDP. Now that the end game for the terror group is near, its political face is manifesting in the form of the Markafi PDP faction. It is the real terror group.
    Murphy is a security expert and contributed this piece from
    Cotbus, Germany.

  • PDP crisis: Sheriff, Makarfi in war of words over proposed convention

    …There’s no going back on the convention – Sheriff faction

    …We won’t be surprised if you do, illegality is your watchword – Makarfi faction

    The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, and the Chairman of the party’s National Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi have engaged themselves in unending war of words over the conduct of the party’s national convention.

    While Sheriff insisted that he would go ahead with the plan to hold the convention, Makarfi said doing so would prejudice the outcome of the ongoing litigation over the leadership of the party at the Supreme Court.

    The Makarfi group has approached the apex court, asking it to nullify the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, which nullified the election of the caretaker committee.

    The judgment of the appellate court, which restored the leadership of Sheriff, has been used by the former governor of Borno State to gain access to the party’s national secretariat.

    This has been criticised by the Makarfi group, saying the Police refused to open the secretariat for it when it won at the Federal High Court.

    It alleged that the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government was behind the Sheriff faction, adding that the Police ought to have waited till the determination of its appeal at the Supreme Court before opening the gates to the secretariat for any of the factions.

    But Sheriff, who spoke through his deputy, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, said that the plan for the convention would go on despite the case.

    He, however, said the planned National Executive Committee meeting of the party, earlier scheduled to hold early in the week, was shelved because of the case, which comes up today.

    He said the party, under the leadership of the former governor of Borno State, was meeting with its lawyers for what he described as strategy.

    Ojougboh stated, “We are progressing with the plan to hold the convention, even though we have postponed the NEC meeting because we are meeting with our lawyers over the case which comes up at the Supreme Court on Thursday.

    “The postponement of the NEC meeting is strategic because we need to put heads together to challenge the appeal by the renegade group in our party.

    “We are sure of winning the case because the court is a temple of justice and we expect no less than that.

    “The law is blind and when its principles are faithfully applied, justice will be fully served. We are absolutely optimistic that justice will be served because no one owns the court.”

    He denied an insinuation that the NEC meeting was cancelled because of the fear that it could be boycotted by the majority of its members.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that efforts made by former President Goodluck Jonathan to reconcile the two factions have also met a brick wall as Sheriff and members of his team walked out of the meeting called by the former President to resolve the crisis.

    But Makarfi said he would not be surprised if Sheriff decided to go ahead with the convention, maintianing that such an action would be unfortunate.

    The former governor, who spoke through a member of the caretaker committee, Dayo Adeyeye, on Wednesday, stated that the Sheriff group was known for taking the law into its own hands.

    He said, “We won’t be surprised if they go ahead with their so-called national convention.

    “Don’t forget that the case on the leadership is still pending at the Supreme Court, yet they said they want to go ahead; that is lawlessness.

    “Are they assuming that they are going to win the case or what? If they now lose, what happens? Let them go ahead with their illegality.

    “We are not surprised because they are used to illegality. So, let them continue, but we know it won’t last.”

     

  • Leave God out of Meningitis outbreak, blame APC, Makarfi tells Yari

    The Senator Ahmed Makarfi faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has told Governor of Zamafara State, Abdulaziz Yari, to hold his party, the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC responsible for the outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis in the country, and not God.

    Makarfi said this in a statement released by the spokesman of the faction, Prince Dayo Adeyeye.

    The statement reads: “The news of the outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis in the country and the apathetic attitude of both the Zamfara State and Federal Government to curtail the scourge is disheartening and preposterous.

    “This Government wasted so much funds on the State House Clinic with no tangible result but neglected other health centers and clinics across the country that have capacities to manage the health challenges of other Nigerians. For the record, the primary responsibility of any government is to protect the lives and property of its citizens and the APC-led Government has remained insensitive, careless and adamant to the plight of Nigerians in all ramifications.

    “As of Tuesday, April 4, 2017, about 336 Nigerians have lost their lives due to the outbreak of type C Cerebrospinal Meningitis and the Federal Ministry of Health has not taken any concrete step to contend with the spread. It is on record that the PDP Government in sixteen years did not allow such mindless display of insensitivity as seen by this APC administration.

    “More worrisome is the statement credited to the Governor of Zamfara State, Alh. Abdulaziz Yari in which he attributed the outbreak of Meningitis to God’s making. This is shameful and very unfortunate as the APC has run out of reasons to blame previous PDP administration but it’s now blaming God for its failures.

    “Governor Yari should not blame God for his failures but that of his party, the APC, to avoid incurring God’s anger on their crass ineptitude in governance. However, we wish to advise him to resign immediately for making such statement as a state Governor and the Chairman of Governors Forum who is supposed to bring hope to the people and not despair.

    “Finally, we call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to stop playing politics with this outbreak and do everything within its power to end the menace. As a party, our heart goes to the families of all those that lost their lives to the scourge within this period. We urge all Nigerians to drink more water, sleep in a ventilated environment and report symptoms to the nearest health center within their areas for quick medical attention.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Governor Yari had on Tuesday while reacting to the outbreak of the disease said God was punishing Nigerians for their lifestyle with the disease.

  • Vacate party secretariat until S’Court judgement, Makarfi warns Sheriff

    The Senator Ahmed Makarfi’s faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Monday warned the Appeal Court reinstated National Chairman of the party, Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff to vacate the party’s National Secretariat pending the judgement of the Supreme Court.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that sequel to a Port Harcourt Appeal Court ruling affirming Sheriff as the Chairman of the party, the former Borno State governor was granted entry to the Wadata plaza in Abuja. party secretariat which has been said he would take over the party’s Secretariat this week.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that the party’s secretariat had been under lock and key since May, 2016 after its National Convention held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    However, spokesperson of the Makarfi’s faction, Prince Dayo Adeyeye in a statement on the party’s twitter handle warned that failure of Sheriff to quit the complex will lead to break down of law and order.

    The statement titled, “LET SHERIFF WAIT FOR THE SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT,” reads in part: “We wish to remind the public that the recent Court of Appeal Judgment was based on the Appeal filled by Senator Sheriff and Co. against the Judgment of Justice Liman J of the FHC in Port Harcourt that upheld the legality and constitutionality of the May 21st 2016 National Convention that took place in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and the Decisions arising therefrom.

    “Because Senator Sheriff claimed that he has appealed against that Judgment, the law enforcement agencies denied the National Caretaker Committee and the employees assess into the National Secretariat.

    “Now that the Party led by the National caretaker Committee has filled appeal against the recent Judgment, the status quo ante remains until the determination of the Appeal to the Supreme Court.

    “In the light of the above, we are calling on the Police and the general public and lovers of peace and democracy to ask Senator Sheriff & Co. to respect the on-going litigation processes.

    “The Police should ensure that Sheriff and Co. do not occupy the National Secretariat in order to avoid breakdown of law and order. We have noticed that the Police have taken sides in this matter perhaps because of directives

    “It is common knowledge that Senator Sheriff and Co. forcefully broke into the National Secretariat of the Party around 6:00 PM on Friday 24 February, 2017. The Keys of the National Secretariat are with the Board of Trustees.”

  • Why we stopped Makarfi faction from holding meeting in ICC – Police

    Why we stopped Makarfi faction from holding meeting in ICC – Police

    The Federal Capital Territory, FCT Police Command has explained why it barricaded the International Conference Centre, ICC venue of the stakeholders meeting of the Makarfi led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP on Monday.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that following the barricade, the meeting was moved to the Ekiti State Governor’s lodge in Abuja.

    The command’s spokesman Anjuguri Manzah however denied allegations that the police acted on the order of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

    Manzah said the command acted on intelligence reports that both factions (Makarfi and Sheriff) were planning to hold stakeholders meeting at the same venue (ICC) on the same day (Monday). The police said rather than allow both factions clash and cause national unrest, it decided to barricade the venue to stop access of both factions.

    In Manzah’s words: “Credible intelligence at the disposal of the FCT Police Command indicated that the two factions i.e. the Ahmed Makarfi group and the Ali Modu Sheriff group scheduled to hold their meetings at the International Conference Centre today [Monday] and this can lead to serious clash and breach of public peace.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that following the ruling of an Appeal Court on Friday in Port Harcourt which declared Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff as authentic chairman of the party, the Makarfi faction immediately convened the stakeholders meeting to address issues and what it will do next.

  • Makarfi remains PDP chairman, Judiciary cannot dictate for us – Fayose

    The Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Governors Forum and Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has said Senator Ahmed Makarfi remains the authentic chairman of the party regardless of Friday’s Appeal Court ruling.

    Fayose said this at the stakeholders meeting convened by the Ahmed Makarfi led faction of the party.

    He also warned the Nigeria Police Force, NPF and other sister security agencies to stop disrupting venues of the party events to avoid unrest in the country.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that following the judgement of the Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt on Friday declaring Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff as the recognized chairman of the party, the Makarfi led faction convened a stakeholders meeting scheduled to hold on Monday (today) at the International Conference Centre, ICC in Abuja but the venue was barricaded by officials of the Nigeria Police Force before party leaders could get there.

    The meeting was however reconvened to hold at the lodge of the Ekiti State governor in Abuja.

    Fayose said he warned Nigerians against voting in the All Progressives Congress, APC but was tagged as a bad person because he always speaks the truth.

    “I warned Nigerians against voting in President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC candidates in general but they didn’t listen. They called me all sorts of names but I am not bothered. I will keep saying my mind and nobody can intimidate me. Now that they have voted in the APC, look at what they have turned our beloved nation to within a space of just two years. It is really unfortunate but we still on ground to win back the presidency come 2019″.

    Fayose also said despite torrents of phone calls he had received to settle with the Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff faction, the Makarfi faction of the party will contest the Appeal Court ruling at the Supreme Court.

    Also speaking, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State advised party members not to be discouraged by what is happening in the country. He said despite intimidations, the party should be resolute in its pursuit of good governance to the people. He said that the PDP is on ground to win elections in virtually all the states of the federation as Nigerians have learnt their lessons from the 2015 elections.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Governors Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti State), Nyesom Wike (Rivers State), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa State) all made it to the meeting. The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, former Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, Senator Ben Obi, Chief Bode George, and other important party chieftains made it to the stakeholders meeting.

  • A’Court judgement: Makarfi convenes emergency meeting

     

    Sequel to the affirmation of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff on Friday as Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, , by an Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has called for an emergency meeting of party stakeholders over the ruling.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that an Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, had on Friday ruled in favour of Sheriff as chairman of the party.

    However, the Makarfi’s faction of the party rejected the ruling, saying it was heading to the Supreme Court to contest the judgement.

    According to a notice signed by the faction’s Publicity Secretary, Dayo Adeyeye, the meeting will hold at the International Conference Centre, ICC, Abuja 2pm on Monday.

    Adeyeye said the decision of the Appeal Court which gave victory to Sheriff will be discussed.

    The notice of the meeting posted on the party’s twitter handle @OfficialPDPNIG mentioned that those invited to the meeting are “members of the National Executive Committee (NEC), members of the Board of Trustees (BoT), National Assembly members, former governors of PDP, former ministers on the platform of the PDP, former National Assembly members and party elders.”

    Adeyeye urged all invited guests to attend “unfailingly.”