TheNewsGuru

Tag: Sheriff

  • Supreme Court Judgement: We’ll reconcile with Sheriff, other aggrieved members – Makarfi

    Supreme Court Judgement: We’ll reconcile with Sheriff, other aggrieved members – Makarfi

    Senator Ahmed Makarfi, Chairman, National Caretaker Committee, People Democratic Party (PDP), said the committee was opened to reconciliation that would strengthen the party.

    Makarfi gave the assurance while addressing members and supporters of the party after the Supreme Court judgment on the party’s leadership crisis delivered in favour of the committee on Wednesday.

    He described the judgment as “no victor, no vanquished’’ and said, “we must be open to reconciliation, but there’s a caveat.

    “Reconciliation does not mean we take what belongs to people and give it to you. It must be based on equity, equality and values.

    “With this caveat, we should be prepared and willing to reconcile with everybody.

    “Anybody that can meet these criteria, we should be willing and open to reconciliation with such a person, no matter who they are.”

    He urged Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff and his group to join hand with him to move the PDP forward.

    Makarfi also called on members of the party not to discriminate among members who belonged to different factions before the court’s judgment.

    “We should continue as friends, knowing that there are things we can do together; there may be things we may not be able to do together.

    “We are willing to do everything on the foundation that I had mentioned.

    “I urge them to come forward, join hands with us and let’s see how we can move PDP forward,’’ he said.

    Makarfi commended PDP members and the judiciary for the fair judgement, saying PDP never lost faith in the judiciary.

    “This victory is not just for PDP, it’s for democracy. This affirms the powers of political parties, the powers of the convention of all political parties.

    “The battle we fought was not a battle for PDP alone. It was a battle for democracy; it was a battle for supremacy of party men and women to decide their destiny.

    “It is a battle to do away with dictatorship in political parties and this will never repeat itself,” he said.

    He promised that the committee within the next few days would begin consultation and come up with a programme of meetings between it and expanded PDP caucus.

    “These meetings will include Expanded Caucus, Board of Trustees and National Executive Committee so that we can take far-reaching decisions on how to take the party forward.”

    On his part, Gov. Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and Chairman of PDP Governors Forum, said that the court verdict had placed PDP on good stand to return to power in 2019.

    Fayose said that PDP would make maximum use of the judgment to reposition the party, adding that the forum would not fight Sheriff and his loyalists.

    “We will not fight them. We should just come back together so that we can celebrate 2019 together.”

    He assured the Makarfi-led leadership of corporation of the governors, saying “where we need to speak we will speak, where we need to spend money we will spend.”

    Also speaking, the Deputy President of Senate, Mr Ike Ekweremadu, described the judgment as a collective victory for the entire party faithful and the nation’s democracy.

    “I am happy that the Supreme Court has brought this protracted leadership tussle to an end today.

    “There is no victor and there is no vanquished, but a collective victory for our party and the nation’s democracy.

    “No democracy can prosper in the absence of a virile opposition or under the extreme hardship Nigerians have faced over the past two years. Citizens deserve a viable alternative,” Ekweremadu said.

    He called on PDP leadership and elders to immediately initiate an all-inclusive peace, reconciliation and rebuilding process in the party.

    The lawmaker said that it was important to reunite everybody under the “big umbrella and reinvigorate the biggest party in Africa to bounce back to the rescue of the suffering masses of Nigeria, come 2019”.

     

    NAN

  • PDP crisis: Panic in Makarfi, Sheriff’s camps as S’Court delivers judgement today

    There is palpable tension in the camps of the two faction (Makarfi and Sheriff) of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as they await the judgement of the Supreme Court over its lingering leadership crisis today (Wednesday) in Abuja.

    While the camp of the National Chairman of the party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, said it was expecting the apex court to deliver what it called justice, the camp of the National Caretaker Committee of the party, headed by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, said it would not speak on what might be the outcome of the case.

    Rather, it said it would wait for the judgment to be delivered before making its position known.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the apex court’s five-man bench, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, had, on Monday, May 23, adjourned for judgment after the adoption of addresses by both parties.

    Justice Onnoghen, who reserved judgment after the hearing, is leading the five-man panel hearing the case.

    Other justices on the panel are Justices Tanko Muhammad, Bode Rhodes-Vivour, Kayode Ariwoola and Dattijo Muhammad.

    The Acting National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Bernard Mikko, who spoke on behalf of Sheriff, told our correspondent that the crisis rocking the party would be expected to come to an end after the judgment.

    Mikko stated, “We are all eagerly waiting for the outcome of the case. We have been informed and told that the judgment will be delivered on Wednesday (today).

    “We are expecting judgment and we are expecting justice to be done.

    “It is good that the judgment will come early and allow the party to sit up and begin to work together as a true opposition political party ahead of 2019.

    “It is also noteworthy that the majority of the combatants, including the likes of Governors Ayodele Fayose and Nyesom Wike of Ekiti and Rivers states respectively, have said they will not leave the party no matter the outcome of the case.

    “In our own case, we remain members of the party irrespective of the outcome of the case. Whichever way it goes, it (the judgment) will strength our party and democracy.”

    Spokesperson for the Makarfi’s caretaker committee, Dayo Adeyeye, said he would not make any comment on the expected judgment.

    “I’m not going to speak on the expected judgment until after it must have been delivered,” he said.

    However, it was gathered that the party’s former ministers had asked members of the party to attend the court sitting in Abuja today.

    The former ministers, in a text message to some of the members of the party, which was leaked to the media, said, “Finally, the Supreme Court of Nigeria has today officially notified our great party, the PDP, of the date to deliver judgment on the suit PDP vs. Sheriff and four others.

    “Our teeming supporters and members, who are willing to attend, are hereby encouraged to do so in solidarity with the PDP. God bless the PDP! God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Makarfi faction, which has the support of the majority of the stakeholders and caucuses of the party, won the first case at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    Sheriff and his team, who were dissatisfied with the outcome of the judgment, approached the Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt for a review of the High Court judgment.

    The former governor of Borno State won at the appeal court, but Makarfi and his team challenged the judgment at the apex court.

    The Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday (today) will however put an end to the lingering leadership crisis that has rocked the party since 2015 when it lost control of the central government.

  • 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)

  • 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.”

     

  • PDP crisis: Sheriff pulls out of Jonathan’s reconciliation move

    PDP crisis: Sheriff pulls out of Jonathan’s reconciliation move

    The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff said he was pulling out the reconciliation move of the former President Goodluck Jonathan to resolve the party’s leadership crisis.

    Sheriff in a statement signed by his Deputy National Chairman, Dr Cairo Ojougboh issued on Thursday in Abuja, said this was to enable his led National working Committee (NOC) to focus on repositioning the PDP.

    He said that the reconciliation moves initiated by Jonathan had finally collapsed, alleging that the move had been hijacked by the Sen. Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee.

    “We are opting out and focusing our efforts at making the party the darling of Nigerians again.

    “We had made tremendous progress before former President Jonathan was asked by party leaders to convene a meeting where stakeholders will adopt the governor Seriake Dickson’s Committee report on reconciliation.

    “” Unfortunately, former president Jonathan lost control of the meeting he convened and allowed Makarfi group to continue with their anti party posture” he said.

    ““All the organs of the party were already queuing up behind us and Jonathan came to unbundle the progress we made by his inability to control the meeting.

    “”We will not continue again but rather concentrate on rebuilding our party,” he said.

    Sheriff also stated that his NWC had postponed the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting scheduled for May 4 indefinitely, adding that a new date would be announced later.

     

     

    NAN

     

  • Fayose, Wike used Jonathan to distrupt PDP’s reconcilliatory moves – Sheriff

    Fayose, Wike used Jonathan to distrupt PDP’s reconcilliatory moves – Sheriff

    The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party took a new dimension on Thursday when its National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, accused the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyeson Wike, and his Ekiti State counterpart, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, of recruiting former President Goodluck Jonathan to scuttle the party’s peace process.

    He alleged that the two governors gave the former President the task of scuttling the efforts of the party’s Peace and Reconciliation Committee headed by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson.

    The former President had, on Thursday last week in Abuja, organised the party’s stakeholders’ meeting, which ended in disarray.

    Sheriff and members of his National Working Committee walked out of the meeting due to disagreements on how it should be conducted.

    However, members of the sacked National Caretaker Committee of the party, headed by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, and other stakeholders of the party were in attendance.

    The Makarfi committee, which was sacked by the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, has however taken its case to the Supreme Court.

    Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Sheriff, who spoke through his deputy, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, said Jonathan was lured into committing a serious breach of protocol that led to the failure of the exercise which was the intended outcome.

    He said, “It was a thing of joy for the party faithful as they jubilated that indeed peace has returned to the party.

    “But to the surprise of all, Wike and Fayose recruited the former President Goodluck Jonathan into a fake peace effort predetermined to scuttle Governor Dickson’s efforts.

    “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.”

    Sheriff also alleged that Wike sponsored the meeting (with Jonathan) with the sum of N50m.

    He said, “The allegation that Wike spent a whopping N50m to host the last failed meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan is neither palatable nor is it acceptable.”

    Sheriff further alleged that the governor had spent several millions in relation to the PDP case at the Supreme Court.

    He said, “It is said that Wike paid $1m for legal fees to Markarfi’s attorneys in the ongoing Supreme Court matter and has disbursed $5m to unknown persons in relation to the Supreme Court case.

    “He has been boasting that he bought his governorship Supreme Court judgment through someone (name withheld) in Suit No PHC/810/2016.”

    The party chairman expressed concern with what he described as “needless spending” by Wike.

    He added, “The party is worried that the amount of money Wike is spending needlessly is worrisome and a measure of unbridled profligacy intended to further smear the good image of the party.

    “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 belongs.

    “Anybody partaking in the misuse of Rivers State money should be fully aware that it is blood money. 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 nevertheless announced that the party’s National Executive Council meeting would hold on May 3, in Abuja.

    But Jonathan denied collecting money from anyone to host the botched meeting.

    The former President, who spoke through his media aide, Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, said that there was no reason for anybody to accuse him of collecting money from anybody to organise a stakeholders’ meeting.

    The ex-President stated, “The former President intervened in the crisis because of his genuine commitment to bring about peace in the party that made him President. I don’t think anybody will believe that he collected money from anybody to organise the meeting.

    “It is out of his genuine concern to bring peace to the party. He has been meeting with members of the party; he met with Sheriff several times, he also met with Makarfi several times. He met with the governors.

    “I don’t see any reason for anybody to say that Jonathan collected money from anybody to organise the stakeholders’ conference.”

    In his own reaction, Fayose said Sheriff was doing the bidding of his paymasters in the All Progressives Congress.

    Fayose spoke through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka.

    “If Ali Modu Sheriff has taken his desperation to serve his paymasters in the APC to the level of accusing former President Goodluck Jonathan of being bribed to organise a peace meeting for the PDP, there is no reason for any sane mind to continue to respond to the continuous advertisement of his (Sheriff) political insanity,” he added.

  • ‘You are free to leave PDP’, Sheriff tells Fayose, Wike

    The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has said Governors Nyesom Wike of Rivers and his Ekiti counterpart, Ayodele Fayose are free to leave the party if they chose to.

    “Sheriff said he was ready to move the party forward without funding it with what he called “stolen money from the governors.” Punch reports

    Sheriff, who said this on Saturday through his deputy, Cairo Ojougboh, stated that the party would not defend any of the governors when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission came after them on how they spent state money while in office.

    Recall that on Thursday, Sheriff and members of his team walked out of a reconciliatory meeting called by former President Goodluck Jonathan over disagreements on how the meeting should be conducted.

    At the meeting, Sheriff had insisted that he would preside over, deliberations, a position Wike and Fayose with, saying Jonathan should preside since it was a reconciliatory and not a party meeting.

    Sheriff on Saturday said the party belonged to the people so he will not be seeking for funds from the governors.

    Ojougboh said, “We are moving on with the determination to reposition the party. We are not interested in the funding of the party from the governors. They are free to leave if they want to, especially Wike and Fayose.

    “We are also not interested in their money. The party belongs to the people, they will finance it. So, if the governors want to withhold money from the party, they are free. We don’t receive stolen money. They have not been funding us and we are surviving.”

    He said the PDP was already planning a nationwide campaign, beginning from the South-East.

    “We are starting with Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Enugu and Abia states, and then we will move to Cross River State. The party belongs to the people and not to governors who will want to steal people’s money,” he added.

    Attempts made to get Fayose’s reaction proved abortive as his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, refused to speak on the matter.

  • 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.”