I’ve nothing personal against Sheriff, says Makarfi

Ali Modu Sheriff

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, says he has nothing personal against a former chairman of the party, Modu Sheriff.

Speaking in an interview with our correspondent on the peace talks between the party’s Board of Trustees and Sheriff, the former governor of Kaduna State said it was false that he had stepped  down for Sheriff.

Makarfi said he and the caretaker committee members were peace-loving individuals, adding that they were not desperate to lead the party.

The former governor said he would step down if the appropriate party organs asked him to do so.

He said, “I am representing the party.  Sheriff is representing his own interest and that of some individuals. I didn’t put myself in the position, neither am I desperate for power. The committee members are peace-loving people, and if the Board of Trustees decides today that we should step down, we will obey the directive. Whatever the appropriate party organs say, we will abide by it. In fact, I won’t wait for more than a minute to step down.

“The problem is Sheriff’s unwillingness to yield to entreaties aimed at resolving the issue. But we are appealing to Sheriff to accept his removal in good faith. The chairmanship of the party is not a do-or-die affair. The party is big enough to accommodate divergent views and interests.”

Also speaking in an interview with our correspondent, a member of the party’s BoT, Prof. Jerry Gana, said the BoT was working in line with the piece of advice given by the immediate past Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, that the party should find a political solution to the party’s crisis.

Gana said a peace meeting between the party’s BoT and Sheriff was stalled because Sheriff was out of the country.

He said the BoT’s delegates might meet Sheriff during the week or as soon as Sheriff expressed readiness for talks.

“We have succeeded in getting 90 per cent of the party in one direction. We are planning a meeting between the BoT’s delegates and Sheriff in the context of goodwill. We hope that the meeting would take place this week. We believe that the best mechanism to ensure peace is to initiate a meeting between the BoT and Sheriff. We want the party to be united so that it can perform its role as an opposition,” Gana said.