Wike: Sheriff out to destroy PDP

Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers has dismissed suggestion that other leaders of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, should negotiate with the factional national chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff  as a way of ending crisis threatening to confine the party to oblivion.

Wike said Sheriff, is a mere distraction to the party and does not have the capacity to bring any dividend to the party.

“Sheriff is from Bornu state he has no capacity to pull down the party. Would he have won the state for PDP? We had believed that everybody should be brought on board but if what we are seeing in Sheriff now and we knew it before we would not have brought him into the party. We regret it. We must always go back and read peoples history. He has so much baggage”.

“Ali Modu-Sheriff has never been sincere. Even those supporting him ask know that ask them. You meet with him today, discuss something with him as he leaves he does another thing.”

Asked if other members would accommodate Sheriff in the party as a way of out of the crisis, Wike said: “Accommodate who? Does he look like someone who wants to be in PDP? Does he not look like somebody who was brought to destroy the party?

“With his type of conduct, does he look like somebody who wants to belong to a party? Go and ask people his role in ANPP. There is nothing to offer Sheriff but that decision is left for a proper organ of the party to take not me. For Sheriff to have been a Chairman of the biggest party for just one month do you know what that means?

He dismissed the notion being espoused by pundits that the crisis in the party and the Sheriff-factor will adversely affect the fortune of the party if not quickly resolved.

Governor Wike assured that Sheriff’s phase will come and go and the party would wax stronger pointing out that even with the present state of crisis, PDP remained the choice of Nigerians citing the victory of the party in March 11 election in Rivers state.

He expressed disappointment at the role of the security agents at botched convention.

“When I saw the Commissioner of Police and Director of Department of State Services, I laughed. And I told them ‘you are using vehicles I bought for you to fight crime to stop me from holding my convention? The same APC (Armoured Personnel Carriers) the state is funding to fight crime is what you are now using to stop me from holding my convention?”

When reminded that the Police said they were confused on which court order to obey, he retorted:”Is there a time the Police are not confused?”

On the nonappearance of the Independent National Electoral Commission officials at the convention, Governor Wike, who is also a lawyer, said: “If INEC didn’t appear at the convention, it is not mandatory. What is required is notice. Having given the required notice, it is not mandatory at all…at all.”