The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has said that it will be near impossible to stop members of the party from defecting to other political parties.
He said even the expected outcome of the party’s case might not be acceptable to some people, adding that it would be wrong for him to stick his neck for members of the party that they would not move to other political parties.
Sheriff, who spoke through the acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Bernard Mikko, told the media in Abuja on Tuesday that every member of the party was eagerly waiting for the Supreme Court to adjudicate on the leadership crisis.
But he said he and other members of the party were expecting justice to be done in the case.
The National Caretaker Committee of the party led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi had lodged an appeal before the Supreme Court to challenge the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, which pronounced Sheriff as the national chairman.
Before the Court of Appeal ruling, a Federal High Court also sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, had upheld the selection of the caretaker committee at the party’s failed national convention.
Since the beginning of the crisis, many prominent members of the party had defected to other political parties, especially the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Mikko also spoke on the statement by five governors of the party who met in Abuja on Friday where they resolved that they would stand by the outcome of the judgement of the Supreme Court.
He said, “Well, we have heard what the governors said, and we are all waiting for the judgment of the Supreme Court. We know that the court will toe the line of justice.
“While we are expecting justice, it will be wrong to assume that we can stop people from defecting or leaving the party.”
He also said that the party was aware that the registration of five new political parties by the Independent National Electoral Commission could trigger some members of the party to defect.
He said, “We know some members might want to leave (because of the registration of the new parties), it is possible. However, the registration of these parties is good for our democracy.
“Members (of the PDP) that may want to move to other political are the same as proliferation of political parties don’t change people.
“Majority of the people in the All Progressives Congress are from the PDP. The APC didn’t win the last election; it was won by President Muhammadu Buhari.”
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