PDP: IBB, Sheriff meet behind closed doors

Sources on Sunday confirmed that Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), held a private meeting with Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) in Minna, Niger state capital.

Last week, an appeal court in Port Harcourt recognised Sheriff as the legitimate chairman of the opposition party, and declared the convention that established the Ahmed Makarfi’s caretaker committee as illegal.

Sheriff described the ruling as a victory for the party, not him.

“My victory is a victory for PDP all over Nigeria. There is no loser; it is just a misunderstanding within a family,” he said.

“We are calling on everybody to come together so that the party can be formidable one once again.”

On the purpose of his visit after a two-hour meeting with Babangida, Sheriff said “IBB is our father”.

“IBB congratulated me and advised me to continue that way so that I can bring everybody back together to make the party a formidable opposition,” he said.

“What we want to do now is how to put the party back to shape so that everyone that is aggrieved is brought back as one united family once again.

“This is because united will stand, divided will fall. I have called Makarfi himself, and everybody to come back so that we can work together.”

Babangida Aliyu, former Niger governor, who was also at the meeting with IBB, said Sheriff remained the party’s chairman “for now”.

“Now that we have a legal decision supporting the position, we are okay. Though some people are talking of taking the matter the Supreme Court, others are saying no,” he said.

“We should start widening the solution so that we don’t waste time in terms of legality.

“That is why for the moment, Ali Modu Sheriff is the chairman of the party until anybody is able to go higher to set aside this decision of the court. Those of us who love to see solution to this party will continue to find solution. I think we should all bury our ambitions; you can have an ambition without a platform.

“We need to have a platform first of all and we are in the opposition, and we need time to organise and reorganise and go back to the people with plausible real solution to their problems.

“If we don’t get these solutions, then what do we have?

“I appeal to all PDP lovers and members to look at the issues objectively, we need to have a platform that we can call a party which can win elections and not a fragmented party.’’