Speaking to newsmen in Lagos on the leadership crisis in the PDP, George also urged the embattled ex-governor Sheriff to accept that his tenure as chairman of the PDP has ended.
George acknowledged the impact of the leadership crisis on the party, stressing that the PDP can become a vibrant opposition party, if united, coherent and focused.
George, who berated Sheriff for making what he described an unguarded statement on the Edo primary, said the former governor was trying to ‘create an impression of crisis and division in his bid to deliberately deny the benefit of a governorship candidate in the South-South state.’
“Sheriff is an ex-PDP Acting Chairman. He should go home. He is barely two years old in the party and he does not know the party culture. He ceased to be the chairman at the convention. He was a chairmanship aspirant, who took the nomination form and appeared before the screening committee. You can’t be the midwife and the new born baby. The tenure of the NWC has ended.
“Sheriff went to the party’s national convention in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, as a national chairmanship aspirant seeking re-election. After picking the nomination form, he appeared before the pre-convention screening panel for clearance.
“There was a directive that there should be no election into the offices of the chairman, secretary and auditor. The convention is empowered to set up the caretaker committee. It was constitutionally set up and it has the right to organise a new convention.
“Those who took the party to court should have been fired. Sheriff cannot lead the party again. We will have new managers.”
George frowned at the activities of Prof. Wale Oladipo, Adeyanju and Buriji Kashamu, who are supporting Sheriff, recalling that the secretary and auditor became party officers because their rivals were asked to step down for them at the zonal congress. He added: “I expect the professor to have a deeper and more rational mind. If he is now taking orders from Buruji, his former students will not like it. Wale should not disgrace Yoruba. His children and grandchildren will read all these stories in the newspapers. I urge him to come back home honourably.”
On the controversy between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Presidency on one hand with governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, over election funding, George, the one-time Military Administrator of Ondo State, and later Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), said the rule of law will prevail in the matter between governor and the anti-graft agency.
The EFCC, on Monday, June 20, froze two personal accounts of the governor and one belonging to his company, Spotless Investments, in the course of its investigations into N4.7billion Fayose allegedly received from the office of the National Security Adviser during his election campaign in 2014.
Fayose has since denied receiving any money, claiming it was Zenith Bank that majorly funded his campaign and according to Bode George, Fayose can’t be prosecuted because of Section 308 of the Constitution.
“Ayo is my son. He has his own style. Two wrongs cannot make a right. Let us follow the rule of law. He cannot be prosecuted because of Section 308 of the Constitution.”
