The factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has refuted reports that his group is behind moves to establish a new party called Advanced Peoples Democratic Party (APDP).

He says the PDP will not be boxed into a corner by the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff faction, promising that his group will remain visible in the political scene.

Addressing journalists in Kaduna, Senator Makarfi said the party will wait for the outcome of the Supreme Court judgement before taking any further decision.

Makarfi also faults the National Reconciliation Committee of the Party, chaired by Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, for submitting its report to Sheriff, with a preposition to hold a convention as soon as possible when all pending issues are yet to be resolved.

He therefore accused Sheriff of breaching the Appeal court judgement by parading himself as the PDP national chairman and planning to conduct a fresh convention when the matter is still in court.

According to the former Kaduna State governor, the February 17 Court of Appeal judgement did not reinstate Ali Modu Sheriff as PDP national chairman, but only ordered that status quo before the May 21, 2016 convention of the party held in Port Harcourt should remain.

However, Makarfi affirms that whatever new decision that will be taken on the PDP crisis should be taken by all stakeholders which include the Board of Trustees, Governors and members at a properly constituted national convention in June 2018, when the tenure of all the 18 national elected officers would have expired.

On the political solution being suggested by leaders of the party as the alternative resolution to this crisis, Makarfi says his group will only be disposed to such arrangement when it is comprehensive, genuine and legally binding on all parties involved.

The reconciliation committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has set conditions for a national convention to be presided over by the National Chairman of the party, Ali Modu Sheriff.

The convention is tentatively fixed for June 30, but Makarfi says any convention held by Sheriff without recourse to pending legal issues would be null and void at the end of the day.

(Channels TV)

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