Politics
PDP: Time To Consolidate Is Now
At last, a Federal High
Court in Port Harcourt on July 4, 2016 has finally barred the factional National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff from office. The court’s judgement put a final seal to the coffin of Sheriff’s chairmanship, keeping him away from the secretariat of the party in Abuja. By the judgement, it is now clear that whatever agenda Sheriff had for or against the PDP is dead and buried.
A member of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the party in an interview with newsmen before the judgement, said: “we know he has an agenda. He wants to kill the PDP and return to where he is coming from but that would not happen. He has been parading himself all over the place like a masquerade. Unfortunately, there is not much we can do to him now. Let us wait for the July 4 judgement. After that day, then, we will know who the chairman of the party is.”
Justice A. Liman of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt had on May 24, ordered Sheriff and members of his National Working Committee (NWC) to stop parading themselves as officers of the party. That decision gave legal teeth to the May 21 Port Harcourt National Convention that produced the Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee of the PDP.
Justice Ibrahim Buba at the Federal High Court in Lagos had affirmed Sheriff and his faction as the national officers of the party.
The constitution of the party as provided in Section 43 stipulates that such powers are conferred on anybody by the National Convention of the party as held in Port Harcourt on May 21, 2016. On that day, the power was transferred to the Makarfi Committee through the convention. It was from that day that Sheriff ceased to be the national chairman of the party by law. The INEC officials were on hand to observe the convention.
Addressing the conven-tion which was attended by PDP members from the 36 States of the Federation including Abuja, former and sitting governors, senators and House of Representatives members, members of State Houses Assembly, BOT of the party and supporters, Rivers State Governor, Chief Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike who was chairman, National Planning Committee, said the event had showcased PDP as the largest and a united party in Nigeria and Africa at large.
He assured that the convention would be successful and that the PDP was working not only in Rivers State but also in Nigeria as a whole. Wike also assured the business community and investors that Rivers State was peaceful and well secure contrary to sponsored reports.
Also addressing the convention, the former Deputy National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, who declared it open, said the time had come for PDP members to come together and eschew all wrangling, knowing that the party was for the people.
According to him, only PDP can save the country from the difficult situation it is passing through, saying that the APC had failed. “There is general hunger and the populace is yearning for PDP to come to their rescue. We must make sacrifice since we cannot do anything outside the convention as the control switch of the party. We must make sure that PDP succeeds and remains together because the world is looking towards PDP to move the country forward.”
Speaking in an interview with The Tide, Secondus described the so-called division or crisis in the party as a mere distraction and not a crisis as being speculated, pointing out that there was no crisis in the party as what was happening so far was a mere distraction from a handful of members who were being used to create the scene that looked like a crisis. The party, he said, was intact and united even more than ever before, adding that the party was not in any crisis as all the members of the working committee, Board of Trustees and National Assembly members were intact and in support of the decisions reached at the party’s convention in Port Harcourt.
“The convention of any party is the highest decision-making body of the party and all party men are supposed to abide by it,” he said and advised Sheriff to read the party’s constitution and stop behaving the way he was going about things, if he was not being used by the ruling party to divide or weaken the opposition in the country.
In his speech, the BOT chairman, W. Jubril affirmed the board’s commitment to ensuring the oneness of the party and urged all members to remain resolute, cooperative and keep to the party’s constitution. He noted that the convention came at the right time when some members of the party were aggrieved and assured that they will all come together and return to the party.
“The party will come back to power in 2019. All problems will be addressed in line with our constitution,” he assured, calling on members to remain calm and supportive to the party and not to do anything that will create division and a different agenda.
Also speaking, Senate Deputy President, Ike Ekweremadu said, “today is a history of unity despite the opposition. We are reminding the world and Nigeria that we handed everything to APC. We stand for unity and by this time next year, we will be preparing to take over the government in 2019.”
Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimikko and PDP governors’ Forum chairman, in his remarks said, “We stand in absolute solidarity and will do everything possible to protect and make the party sand. Nigerians are clamouring for better governance. We were all prudent because we believed in the rule of law and democracy in all the 16 years of PDP and we got it perfectly well despite the criticisms. Ours was better than what people are seeing now.”
According to Mimikko, “there was prosperity in PDP’s rule and the party will do more than what it did, knowing that it owes the people the duty to provide good governors to rule the states. PDP governors are the best in Nigeria today. We should remain united.”
Former Senate President David Mark expressed optimism that the PDP would in 2019 elections sweep the pools, calling on members to untie and work together to achieve the goal. Chanting the slogan ‘change the change.’ Mark said “the people to change the change is PDP.”
At the convention, a resolution was passed to zone the presidency to the North in 2019 while a caretaker committee headed by Ahmed Makarfi was constituted and mandated to conduct an election within 90 days from the date of the convention, as well as reconcile all aggrieved persons and harmonise issues.
Meanwhile, there are indications that the end may be in sight for the lingering crisis in the leadership of the party as factional leaders, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and Senator Ahmed Makarfi, have commenced negotiations on how to engender peace. Disclosing this at a press conference in Abuja recently, the immediate past National Vice Chairman of PDP for South-South, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, said the Sheriff Camp had made its terms for truce known to the Makarfi group through an ‘intermediary.’
But Ojougboh insisted that any negotiation for peace must always consider that Sheriff remained the authentic chairman until a properly constituted convention of the party said otherwise. He declined to give other conditions outlined for peace to reign in the party.
Shedie Okpara
A senator who represented Taraba Central, Mr Abubakar Yusuf, has declared that the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu are not yielding the expected results.
His comment is one of the strongest internal critiques yet from within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The comment underscores the growing dissatisfaction within sections of the ruling party over the direction and impact of the administration’s economic reforms amid rising living costs and fiscal pressures across the country.
Mr Yusuf, who served in the Senate between 2015 and 2023 under the platform of the APC, made the remarks during an appearance on national television.
Responding to a question on whether the administration’s economic direction, often referred to as Tinubunomics, was working, Mr Yusuf answered in the contrary.
“For me, it is not working. I am a member of the APC. I would be the last person to hide the facts”, he said.
He said while the government might be operating diligently within its policy structure, the framework itself is ill-suited to Nigeria’s current realities
“Within the policy framework, yes, they are doing their best, but it is not the framework that is suitable for Nigeria at the point in time that President Asiwaju came into power,” he said.
Mr Yusuf criticised the immediate removal of fuel subsidy on the day the president was sworn in, arguing that the decision lacked sufficient consultation and planning.
“I am one of those who say President Asiwaju ought to have waited. Not on the day he was sworn in to say subsidy is gone. On what basis?”, he asked.
He urged broader engagement before major fiscal decisions are taken.
“Sit down with your cabinet, sit down with your ministers, sit down with your advisers,” he said, dismissing the argument that subsidy removal was justified solely on grounds of corruption.
The former lawmaker identified “structural flaws” in the country’s budgeting system, particularly the envelope budgeting model.
“One of the basic problems is that before you budget, you should have a plan. The envelope system we have been operating has been you budget before you plan. That has been a major issue”, he said.
He argued that allocating spending ceilings without aligning them to concrete development strategies inevitably weakens implementation and delivery.
“If you give me an envelope which is contrary to my plan, whether it is plus or minus, there is no way I am going to implement my plan. It is bound to fail,” he said.
Mr Yusuf called for the scrapping of the envelope budgeting system, noting that he had consistently opposed it even during his years in the National Assembly.
“It is not good for us. It is not going to work well for us,” he said.
He further blamed poor capital releases and persistent deficit financing for undermining budget performance over the years.
“We could not meet 60 percent of our capital budget in all these years. No releases. If you make a budget and the release is very poor, there is no way the budget will be executed”, he stated.
According to him, weak fund disbursement mechanisms and reliance on deficit financing have entrenched a cycle of underperformance.
“Our budget ought to have been a surplus budget, but all our budgets have always been deficit financing budgets,” Mr Yusuf added.
The Nigerian House of Representatives has resolved to reconvene for an emergency session tomorrow February 17, 2026, to deliberate on issues arising from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) release of the timetable for the 2027 general elections.
The decision was disclosed in a statement issued by the House Spokesman, Rep. Akin Rotimi, who described the electoral body’s announcement as one of “constitutional and national significance.”
INEC had fixed February 20, 2027, for the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
According to the statement, members of the Green Chamber were notified of the emergency sitting through an internal memorandum from the Speaker’s office.
The session is expected to focus on legislative matters connected to the newly released timetable, reflecting the House’s resolve to act promptly on issues affecting the nation’s democratic process.
Rep. Rotimi noted that all related businesses would be treated with urgency and urged lawmakers to prioritise attendance in view of the importance of the deliberations.
INEC had on Friday formally unveiled the comprehensive schedule for the 2027 polls, including timelines for party primaries slated for July to September 2026, as well as the commencement of Continuous Voter Registration in April 2026.
The development comes amid ongoing consultations and proposed amendments to the Electoral Act ahead of the 2027 general elections.
As the controversy over the transmission of election results continues across the country, the Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), a pro democracy organisation in the country, has criticised the National Assembly for not giving express approval to real time transmission of elections results.
To this end, the group is calling on all civil society organisations in the country to mobilise and push for a better Electoral Reform in the country.
This was contained in a press statement titled, “Defence For Human Rights and Democracy Demands Real Time Election Transmission of Result”, a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt.
The group described the refusal of compulsory real time transmission of result results by the Senate as undemocratic, adding that the situation will give room for election manipulation, rigging and voters apathy.
It said that the provision of mandatory real time transmission of election results would have significant improvement on the nation’s democracy.
According to the statement, “Since the return of democracy in 1999 to date, it is 27 years, so our Democracy has metamorphosed from being nascent and as such significant improvement should have been recorded.
“Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), is really disappointed at the National Assembly, especially the upper chamber (Senate) for not approving ‘Real Time Electronic Transmission of Election Result’.
“This undemocratic act of theirs, if not tamed, will give room for election manipulation and rigging’”.
Signed by Comrade Clifford Christopher Solomon on behalf of the organisation, the statement further said, “The Defence For Human Rights and Democracy unequivocally supports real time transmission of election result”, stressing that his group will resist any act by the National Assembly to undermine the nation’s democracy.
“DHRD,unequivocally supports ‘True Democracy’, which is Government of the people, by the people and for the people.
“Therefore, anything that will crash the hope of Nigerians to Freely, Fairly and Transparently elect candidates of their choice in any given election should and will be vehemently resisted because good governance begins with leaders elected through credible process. By so doing, leaders have entered a social contract with the citizens to equitably manage their affairs and abundant resources”, the statement added.
It urged the National Assembly to revisit the issue in order to avoid civil unrest.
According to the DHRD, “To avoid civil unrest,voters apathy, election rigging and manipulation, rather to promote citizens participation, advancing our Democracy and entrenching free, fair, credible and acceptable electoral outcome, the National Assembly should amend the electoral act in a manner that will deepen our democracy and boost citizens confidence.
“On this note, The Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), is calling on all other civil society organisations (CSOs) to mobilise, organise and push for a better electoral act amendment by the National Assembly”.
By: John Bibor
