"JONATHAN HAS NO INTEREST ON SHERIFF"-Former minister

The Former PDP Ministers Forum, of which you are a member, remains about
the only organ in the Peoples Democratic Party leadership still opposed to the
emergence of Ali Modu Sheriff as the party’s national chairman. What is
informing the strict opposition?
It is good to start by explaining that politics is not the absence of
disagreement. The whole essence of politics is to reconcile disagreements and
conflicting views and opinions without necessarily rocking the boat. You
harmonise them in a way that everybody has a sense of belonging at the end of
the day.
Our opposition to the emergence of Senator Ali Modu Shriff as PDP chairman is
not personal. Our disagreement is hinged purely on the process and the way the
whole thing was packaged. The process is wrong, the packaging is wrong and
even the product is wrong for the timing.
A national convention of the party was held where Alhaji Bamanga Tukur was
elected as the national chairman of the party. Some issues arose and Bamanga
had to step aside. Because at that time the national chairmanship of the PDP
was zoned to the Northeast, the leadership of the party felt that even for
convenience it was better to get somebody from the Northeast to replace
Bamanga Tukur. All the candidates who came out were from the Northeast and,
eventually, Ahmed Adamu Muazu emerged as the national chairman as the
successor to Bamanga Tukur.
We then went into an election which we lost, and because of that, there were
some agitations that it would be honourable for the leadership of the party,
having lost an election, to also go, as it is done in some other places. So
Adamu Muazu made that sacrifice by resigning. It was again felt that his
replacement should come from the Northeast.
Since then, a lot of water had passed under the bridge. But two major things
happened. One was a court action filed by Alhaji Ahmed Gulak where he was
able to obtain a declaration from the Federal High Court that the tenure of the
Northeast had not expired and the acting appointment of Chief Uche Secondus
had lapsed within the meaning and letters of the PDP constitution. The court
then ordered that the applicant, who was Ahmed Gulak, or any other person
from the Northeast should be appointed by the appropriate party organ to
complete the tenure of the Northeast.
The second thing was the meeting that we had in Lagos. At this meeting which
was organized by the National Assembly caucus and was attended by the
Governors Forum, the PDP Ministers Forum, representation from the Board of
Trustees, some former governors and some other leading stakeholders of the
party, it was agreed that we should look for a credible person to become the
new chairman of the party so that the narrative will change, so that the
bombardment from the All Peoples Congress will stop, so that we will show to
the whole world that it is not everything and everybody in the PDP that is bad,
so that the new credible chairman will be the new face of the PDP. That
decision was taken at that meeting.
But the governors of the PDP from the Northeast insisted they should be given
the opportunity to conclude their tenure, and that was conceded to them.
Those two developments were what precipitated fresh agitations for the election
or selection of a new chairman from the Northeast to complete Bamanga
Tukur’s tenure and that of Adamu Muazu.
We of the Former PDP Ministers Forum felt that that was right, that the
Northeast was justified in asking for the opportunity to complete their tenure.
You mentioned that ‘even the product is wrong for the timing’. Would you be
referring to Senator Sheriff as the product not good for the timing? And why?
Let me make it clear that the Former Ministers Forum is not opposed to
Senator Sheriff’s personality as the new national chairman of the PDP. There is
nothing personal in our opposition to his emergence. What we strictly oppose is
the process that produced him. I have known Senator Sheriff for over 20 years
and he remains a very good friend. We communicate regularly.
Would the tough stance of the Former Ministers Forum against Senator Sheriff
have anything to do with his threat to deal with Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, a
member of the Forum, who linked him to the emergence and initial
sponsorship of the Boko Haram insurgents?
It is important to know that at this critical time, the party needs a national
chairman who will carry every member along.
Where was the Former Ministers Forum when the process that threw Senator
Sheriff up as the PDP national chairman was on? Why did the Forum have to
tarry till his emergence instead of stopping him in his tracks?
We had always been working together with other stakeholders to ensure the
party produces a credible leader who will change the face of the party.
A lot has been reported about former president, Goodluck Jonathan’s
involvement in the emergence of Ali Modu Sheriff as the PDP national
chairman, though Jonathan himself has been silent. You are one of the former
PDP ministers very close to Jonathan, so would you say Jonathan is truly
supportive of Sheriff’s selection?
Yes, truly I am one of those very close to the former president in and out of
office. I call him from time to time and he also does. I also still meet with him
from time to time. We discuss a lot of things. To the best of my knowledge, it
would be an unfair comment by anybody to say Jonathan had a hand in the
emergence of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as national chairman of the PDP, or that
of any candidate at all.
If Jonathan had been interested in the candidature of anybody, he would have
made it clear, and he would have directed a lot of other colleagues that were
close to him on who to support. I say that whether directly or indirectly,
whether objectively or subjectively, former president, Jonathan, has no desire or
interest to support the candidacy of Ali Modu Sheriff or any other person for
that matter. At this critical time, it would not be proper for Jonathan to single
out any candidate as his candidate. As far as he is concerned, every member is
a PDP candidate and he will respect the wish and trust of members of the
party, and so will not want to create tension in the party by supporting the
candidature of anybody.
I am confident that neither Ali Modu Sheriff nor anybody is being sponsored by
former president, Jonathan. I know that Goodluck Jonathan has not spoken to
any member of the Board of Trustees, National Executive Committee, National
Working Committee or serving Governors Forum or Former Ministers Forum
saying, ‘I want you to elect someone as national chairman of the party.’ If
anybody has contrary information, I stand to be corrected.
But does the former president feel as you do that the right procedure was not
followed in picking Ali Modu Sheriff?
I have not been able to discuss this particular issue with him because, as we
know, he has some personal family issues he is attending to, like the kidnap of
his foster mother and the death of a relation. I do not think this is the proper
time for us to start bringing political matters to his doorstep.
Would you know whether he has congratulated the new national chairman?
I am not in a position to answer that question. Only the former president is in a
position to know.
The Board of Trustees has spoken of its readiness to dialogue with the former
PDP Ministers Forum to resolve the crisis. Would the Forum be willing to meet
the BoT on its terms, especially on allowing Ali Modu Sheriff to serve for three
months before the party holds a national convention?
The acting chairman of the BoT, Senator Walid Jibrin, called me about three
days ago and told me that at a meeting where the BoT met with the Governors
Forum and some members of the National Working Committee, he was
mandated to reach out to us and discuss the possibility of further engagement.
I told him we are available. In our communique, we resolved that our doors are
open for discussion with other stakeholders. As far as we are concerned, when
you have this kind of family disagreement, the best option to resolve it is
dialogue. For us in the Former Ministers Forum, we have been discussing with
other stakeholders. We’ve also had a breakfast meeting with the governor of
Bayelsa State and we had fruitful discussions. All these are part of the open
discussions the Forum will continue to have. It is better to jaw-jaw than to
war-war.
The Former Ministers Forum is not listed in the PDP constitution. What would
the Forum do if Ali Modu Sheriff dares the Forum, with no dialogue or
consultation with it, and simply goes ahead to serve the three month?
Yes, neither the Governors nor Ministers Forum is mentioned in the PDP
constitution outside Section 30, sub-section 1, paragraphs E and O. Governors
and ministers are supposed to be members of the National Caucus of the party.
We are not members of the Working Committee, but there are some of us that
are members of the BoT and some other organs of the party.
The issue is that if the national chairman wants to present any issue before the
National Caucus, the Ministers Forum will be there. If the national chairman
wants to bring anything to the BoT, some members of the Forum will be there.
If you want to bring anything to the Governors Forum, you will meet there
ministers who were former ministers before they became governors. The Forum
membership is so wide that you will find its members virtually in any segment
or organ of the party.
I want to make it abundantly clear that in a democracy, the minority will have
their say but the majority will have their way. Our position is that the process
that brought in Ali Modu Sheriff as PDP national chairman is flawed, and the
manner the whole thing was packaged was clumsy. We stand by that position.
The fact that other stakeholders who are in the majority now may move on
does not mean we will be forced to change our view. If they are willing to
discuss at length with us and we see reason, we will then reconsider our
position.
This does not mean we are also going to fight any other group for the purpose
of forcing our view on them, neither are we going to allow any group to force
their view on us.
How do all these affect the PDP as it struggles to regain its strength towards
the 2019 general elections, especially the presidential?
I believe it is a good development for us because members of the party, the
leaders, can make stakeholders rise up to any situation, argue it and see reason.
This is the kind of development you won’t see in any other political party in
Nigeria today. PDP is the only broad-based political party that is owned by all
Nigerians, unlike other political parties that are owned by individuals or
particular families.
It is a good development because it shows that in the PDP people are given the
opportunity to state their views and air their grievances. Towards 2019, we are
focused, we are united and we are moving together.
The joke out there is that the crisis has further shredded the PDP umbrella.
What is your take on this?
People are entitled to their views. But I am sure that anybody who understands
the way politics is played in Nigeria will agree the umbrella is intact. Nigerians
are advised to keep their umbrella closer to themselves because the clouds are
gathering.