Sports
PDP Warns Sheriff Against Chairmanship Claims
As the supremacy battle in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lingers on, the Senator Ahmed Markarfi-led faction has come out with strong words, denouncing Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the chairman of the party, and threatening him with jail time.
In a statement, yesterday, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Dayo Adeyeye, said the continuous claim by Sheriff that he remains the chairman of the party was a continuation of plans to sustain mayhem in the party, which was evident in the elections in Edo and Ondo states.
According to the full statement: “Our attention has been drawn to another set of garbage and tissues of lies put together by the discredited loyalists of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff in the name of a press statement on Monday, November 28, 2016, wherein, the group tried to sustain it’s illegal claim to the leadership of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“The National Caretaker Committee, which has been confirmed severally by the court as the authentic body saddled with the task of providing leadership for the party pending the hosting of an elective National Convention, would have ignored the ranting of these men of dishonour but leaving them to continue deceiving Nigerians at this time would not be in the interest of democracy.
“First and foremost, we wish to state categorically that in consonance with judgment of various courts, which Ali Modu Sheriff and his team of confused travellers have not bothered to appeal, the former Borno State governor is not the chairman of our party, the PDP. His consistent claim to the office is a continuation of their plans to sustain mayhem in our party, but nature and fair justice have taken care of his desperation.
“We wish to draw the attention of all Nigerians to the judgment delivered by Justice Valentine Ashi of FCT High Court in Apo, Abuja on June 29, 2016, which states clearly that Senator Ali Modu Sheriff was never and is not the PDP national chairman; and equally, this judgment was upheld by the ruling of Justice Nwamaka Ogbonnaya also of the FCT High Court in Kubwa, Abuja on August 17, 2016.
“It is instructive to note that Senator Modu Sheriff and his team of circus performers have not deemed it fit to appeal the court judgments. It is tripartite in law that a judgment not appeal is binding on the defendant. The courts have spoken, and their pronouncements are binding. However, those who wish to spend the rest of their lives behind prison bars may continue to utter heresy against the court.
“We hope their children would be proud to bear the family names of convicts. It is also morally wrong to accuse the National Caretaker Committee of being the reason why the party is facing challenges in terms of unfavourable election results especially in Edo and Ondo states. Everyone knows the real enemies of the PDP. We won’t also forget in a hurry the ignoble role Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim played in scuttling our campaign for the Ondo election.
“We also know those who pushed him forward for the hatchet job. We are amused that the agents of darkness used by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to cause confusion and frustrate our campaign for the Ondo election, can accuse the National Caretaker Committee of impunity. However, we simply want them to define what impunity is, using their acts of betrayal as a case study.
“What they are doing is the worst form of impunity, lawlessness, greed and avarice. Their call on the National Caretaker Committee to self disband is uncharitable and unconstitutional. If they have any shame, they are the ones that should quietly disband. But honours can’t be expected from impostors. No matter what they say, we are determined as a political party to forge ahead and put our house in order even without their inputs.
“The National Caretaker Committee has not called for their expulsion against the claims they are making, the time for that has not come. But the rain of vengeance will not hang forever in the clouds.
The Chairman of Grassroots Initiative, Engr. Promise Alabere has reiterated that the New W.W. Whyte Secondary Football Tournament was to discover hidden players from the grassroots and groom them to stardom.
He stated that the his organisation is partnering with the Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC) for the football tournament, adding that in the first edition 32 players were discovered and NDDC, and his organisation are to fixing them into various clubs.
Engr. Alabere said this while briefing sports journalists last Tuesday, in Port Harcourt, and expressed optimism that the second edition which have 22 secondary schools participating would be exciting and impressive.
” The essence of this tournament is to catch them young because in the 1980s and 1990s most of the players that played for NNPC, Sharks and other big clubs in the country were discovered through this competition.
” Even me I was a product of the W.W. Whyte tournament, as I started playing for the Nigerian Police football club when I was in class four. But this competition stopped about 20 years when two schools resort to bloody clash during one of their games.
According to him the second edition expanded to schools in six Local Government Areas, saying that it will be better than the previous in terms of organisation and others.
“We want to make this edition more exciting and beneficial to all participating schools because the first edition was on experiment but this edition is no longer an experiment” he stated.
The Chairman of Grassroots Initiative,used the forum to advice all participating schools to conduct themselves in a good manner and adhere to rules of the competition.
He equally thanked NDDC for being its major sponsor of the tournament.
Tonye Orabere
Rivers Hoopers captain Victor Anthony Koko has said that his team is mentally ready for the challenge of retaining their Nigeria Premier Basketball League title when the 2025 season Final Four phase holds from November 21 – 23 in Port Harcourt, Tidesports source reports.
The Kings Men, who won back-to-back NPBL titles in 2023 and 2024 unbeaten, are chasing their seventh title.
They will be up against Lagos Legends, Gboko City Chiefs, and Nigeria Customs, as they hope to retain the title they won last year and also pick the ticket to next year’s Basketball Africa League.
Following the conclusion of the Final Eight earlier this month, the KingsMen have had time to fine-tune preparations ahead of their title defence at the Final Four, with the skipper stating that he and his teammates are fully prepared to retain the championship.
“This time around, everyone is ready; everyone is mentally ready. We understand what is at stake, so we need to go all out. And right now, with the level of energy I’ve seen from my team during practice, I don’t think we’re going to be a team that just wants to have fun [on the court]. We’re a championship-winning team, and we want to retain that championship,” he stressed.
Koko has won the league seven times in his career, and he is looking to help the Port Harcourt club reach its height.
“I want us to win the 2025 NPBL title. It’s on my mind, day and night: Hoopers Champions. And I’m assuring our fans that we’re not going to let them down. It’s happening here in Port Harcourt, and we’re going to make them proud.”
Nigeria Premier Football League newcomers, Barau FC have zoomed out of the drop zone after they defeated Rangers International FC 2-0 on Sunday in a rescheduled tie played in Kano.
The Maliya Boys got their goals through Muhammed Umar and Joseph Kemin in the 26th and 76th minutes to record their third win of the season
They have moved to the 16th spot with 13 points from 12 games but the loss by the Flying Antelopes see them slid to the seventh spot with 19 points from 13 games.
The home win is no doubt a relief to Barau FC head coach, Ladan Bosso who has seen his job brought under scrutiny following the Maliya Boys impressive start to the season.
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