Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has urged a former Governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makarfi, and his faction to respect a judgment of a court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, which affirmed that Ali Modu Sheriff as the true National chairman of the crisis-ridden People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Okorocha, who is chairman of APC Governors Forum, urged Makarfi-led PDP and their supporters not to heat up the polity.
He said that, while the Makarfi-led faction of the PDP reserved the Constitutional right to appeal the court of Appeal judgement in Supreme Court, himself and other faithful who are opposed to the leadership of Sheriff should not heat up the polity or do anything that would undermine the county’s nascent democracy.
In a statement issued in Owerri, the state capital, on Tuesday, by the Governor’s political Adviser, Prof. Nnamdi Obiaraeri, Okorocha, noted with dismay a communique issued after a meeting in Abuja on Monday 20th February by the Makarfi led faction of the main opposition party.
The governor, who averred that democrats in a democracy should have democratic mindsets, admonished Makarfi and his group not to be anarchists by going against a valid judgement which empowered Sheriff as the indisputable National chairman of the PDP.
The statement which was titled: “Senator Makarfi and his co-travelers can proceed on appeal to the Supreme Court but must not denigrate the judiciary and or heat up the polity unnecessarily,” saying that any unlawful act undertaken by the Makarfi faction was an affront to the country’s democracy.
Parts of the statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to the recent Communique allegedly issued after a meeting in Abuja by Senator Makarfi and his co-travelers, following his loss of the National Chairmanship and control of PDP to Senator Sheriff in the recent judgement of the Court of Appeal.
“We concede the constitutional right of any person dissatisfied with the judgement of the Court of Appeal to approach the Supreme Court for a final adjudication and determination of the matter or matters in contention but we view with grave concern the apparent disregard for a valid and subsisting judgement of the Court of Appeal by Senator Makarfi and his clique in the PDP national leadership impasse.”
“This open disregard for a valid and subsisting judgement of the Court of Appeal is a grave affront to the judiciary as an arm of government and must be condemned by all and sundry as a further threat to our fledgling democracy”.
“Going through the gamut of the said communique, we are piqued by the shameful lack of decorum exhibited by its authors and the derisive language employed by the Senator Markafi led group in lambasting the majority judgement of the Court of Appeal sought to be appealed against”.
“To say the least, the language of the communique as it affects Their Lordships of the Court of Appeal who delivered the majority judgement is very irresponsible and typical of the outcome of a gathering of lawless political marabouts and desperate gamblers”.
“Concerned stakeholders in the legal profession, decent observers and men and women of enlightened conscience are surprised that Senator Makarfi and his rebellious group will delude themselves into believing that a valid and subsisting majority judgement of the penultimate court of the land can be nibbled at to the point of being brazenly disobeyed because of a dissenting minority judgement. This is completely unacceptable”.