The death of PDP and the dance of the bier

When a father abandon his home
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo had yesterday asserted that Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, the factional National Chairman of the People Democratic Party PDP might be the party’s bier

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Chief Obasanjo, while coming out from a meeting with Modu Sheriff, held behind closed doors at his Hilltop residence in Abeokuta posited that Sheriff was nursing a party whose soul had already departed.

On his arrival at the resident of the former President at about 11.04am in a convoy consisting of four vehicles, the immediately proceeded to the meeting which lasted more than an hour, the factional PDP national Chairman was accompanied by some of his aides and loyalists.

Obasanjo led Sheriff to one of the inner rooms immediately he arrived the compound for what they called a private visit. While journalists were barred from covering the meeting, they were however, invited inside the building after the meeting for a media briefing.

Obasanjo, who spoke first, explained that he received a call from Sheriff on Friday, requesting to have a meeting with him. The factional Chairman has been battling some leaders of the PDP over the party’s top position. Senator Ahmed Makarfi heads the National Caretaker Committee while Modu Sheriff holds claims to being the authentic national chairperson.

Thus this August visit with Obasanjo by Senator Modu Sheriff is believed to be in connection with the crisis rocking the party.

Chief Obasanjo asserted, “I think it was yesterday (Friday), He (Sheriff) called me on telephone and said ‘where are you?’ In addition, I said I am in the country. He said ‘may I come and see you?’ I said my house is open to all Nigerians of goodwill and even non-Nigerians of goodwill. And I said, ‘you can come’. He continued, “Let me make it absolutely clear once and again: I’ve renounced partisan politics. I don’t belong to any political party, not to talk of his own faction of PDP or any other faction”.

While explaining the outcome of the meeting, Chief Obasanjo said he asked Sheriff to tell him the problem in the party and he gave him the details. He however refrained from divulging what he that details was, he only responded by saying

“I am very, very happy to receive him. The soul of that party has been taken out of it, and those who allowed that to happen, unfortunately either in the country or out of the country are unperturbed about the fate of that party and indeed the fate of the country.

“For our democracy to thrive, we need a strong political party in government and strong political party in opposition. For democracy to be strong and dynamic, today’s PDP cannot claim to be a strong party in opposition. I don’t know if APC can claim, at the national level, to be a strong party in government either now, that is part of the misfortune of this country today”.

In the same vein, Sheriff said he visited chief Obasanjo because he was looking for solution to the PDP crisis, saying the missing soul of the party might be retrieved from Obasanjo.

The factional leader, who kept interjecting into Obasanjo’s remarks, especially when the former President called him a factional leader of the party, said, “Baba, I don’t have any faction. I’m the Chairman of the PDP, Baba”.

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In his word, he harangued thus,”Well, Baba has said everything. Baba said the PDP that they gave me is a dying PDP. He built the PDP that everybody cherished. Baba, whether he’s today in politics or outside politics, he has a role in Nigeria’s nation and every one of us that is looking upon to him?, if we have a problem, we must come to him for solution.