• Govs, BoT meet as youths give 7-day ultimatum

From Taiwo Amodu, Abuja

Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), under the leadership of Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of instigating a leadership tussle within its fold.
Former Borno State governor and chairman of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) dissolved at the Port-Harcourt convention, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, had, on Monday, taken over the national secretariat of the party. Sheriff dismissed the Makarfi-led committee as illegal and further claimed that his tenure would terminate in 2018.
But, former minister of state for works and spokesperson of the Makarfi team, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, told newsmen in Abuja, yesterday that the ruling APC was using Sheriff to destabilise PDP ahead of Edo State governorship election in September.
“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 reorganising itself to provide a credible opposition and alternative platform for the forthcoming Edo State gubernatorial election and 2019 elections. APC has contracted Sheriff and his cohorts to scuttle the chances of PDP in the Edo governorship elections.
“We have credible intelligence report that Sheriff had a meeting on Sunday night with an APC governor from the North-West where it was agreed that he would be given full security and financial support to exacerbate the crisis in PDP with the objective of preventing PDP from presenting a candidate for the Edo governorship elections, or, in the very least, prevent PDP from offering a serious challenge to APC whose electoral fortunes has continued to nose-dive.”
He equally faulted the claim of the former party chairman that he has the mandate to run the affairs of the party for three years.
“Senator Sheriff was appointed, not elected by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of our party, to complete the tenure of Alhaji Adamu Mauzu. Muazu’s tenure, legally, would have ended on February 14, 2016 but Sheriff was given an extension of three months by the NEC to organise a national convention. The appointment of Sheriff was not ratified by any national convention of our party; so, constitutionally, he has no other mandate which could have extended beyond May 21, 2016.
Daily Sun gathered that a crucial meeting of the governors on the party platform, Board of Trustees (BoT)and the National Assembly caucus will hold today in Abuja at Ondo State Governor’s Lodge.
The agenda of the meeting is to find a solution to the latest crisis thrown up by Senator Sheriff ejection of the Ahmed Makarfi committee from the party’s national secretariat.
Meanwhile, Makarfi has dismissed as mere  speculation, claim that he has opened discussion with Sheriff with the motive of stepping down for the latter.
He said: “That’s very fraudulent. I saw him (Senator Sheriff) at the convention of course, but, I haven’t sat privately with Modu Sheriff in the last three months, or anybody representing him, not to talk of me making such a statement.
“I haven’t issued any press statement. If that is the case, how can it be that the only statement I would make is to apologise to him and express support for him?
“There is no basis for that, absolutely no basis for that. So, I really don’t know why they are spreading falsehood.”
“But as I am open to dialogue and accommodation, so that we become one strong united family once again, it is very, very unfair to make a fraudulent statement that there is a document purported to have been issued by me.
Reacting to the development, a coalition of youth groups within PDP has given leaders of the party seven days to resolve all pending issues relating to the ongoing crisis in the party or they would takeover.
Briefing newsmen at the end of their meeting yesterday, at the Wadata Plaza National Secretariat of the party, chairman of the group, Aderemi Olusegun, said they were saddened by the “unabated internal wrangling” besetting the party.
He said as concerned youth, they found it necessary to come together to take a firm position in the interest of PDP nationwide.