INEC to decide on recognition of PDP factions next week

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will decide on which of the two factions of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to recognize, next week .
The PDP is presently split into the Senator Ahmed Makarfi and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff factions.
Chief Press Secretary to the INEC, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, who gave this indication in an electronic mail sent to one of our correspondents in response to an enquiry, Sunday, insisted that that the commission had not recognised any faction of the PDP, adding that INEC’s position would be based on the judgment of a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt to be delivered on July 4.
“INEC has not yet recognised any of the PDP factions. There is a pending case in court on this contentious issue, which is likely to be decided on July 4. INEC’s position on the matter will depend on the anticipated court judgment,” Oyekanmi said.
He said that although INEC monitored the primary organised in Edo State by the Ahmed Makarfi faction, he said the action of the commission was based on the order of the court in Port Harcourt.
He added that the Ali-Modu Sheriff faction later went to court to vacate the order, which the commission based its action on.
“INEC did monitor the Makarfi group’s primary election in Edo State, based on the Port Harcourt High Court order, which gave recognition to his group. Now, the Modu Sheriff group has also gone to court to vacate that order, and the court will deliver judgment on the matter on July 4. To that extent, INEC will not monitor the Modu Sheriff’s planned primary election.”
Justice Makhmud Liman of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt will on July 4, rule on the PDP National Convention held last month on May 21.
While Modu-Sheriff, convened the Port Harcourt convention, the party’s elders organised the Abuja meeting.
But the conventions ended in a deadlock. Instead of electing new officers, the convention produced a caretaker committee headed by Markafi.
Sheriff is insisting that he remains the acting chairman of the party.
Makarfi had approached the court on May 23 to seek an order of interim injunction restraining Sheriff from parading himself as the national chairman of the PDP.