This is former President and chieftain of the party, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has described the newly-appointed party chairman, as ‘pro-Boko Haram.’
Although Jonathan is believed to have endorsed the appointment of Sheriff as replacement for Prince Uche Secondus, however, a group of federal ministers who served the former president are said to be opposed to the choice of Sherrif.
The ex-ministers said they might review their membership of the PDP should Sheriff’s candidacy be upheld.
About 15 ex-ministers in Jonathan’s cabinet met Wednesday night in Asokoro, vowing to resist Sheriff’s imposition.
It was learnt that Dr. Jonathan has called to congratulate Sheriff who he allegedly described as “the right choice for the opposition”.
A source within the party said: “Jonathan believes that Sheriff has the guts, influence, native wisdom and the wherewithal to lead PDP to displace the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Jonathan and the governors teamed up to choose Sheriff who was part of the leaders who coordinated the merger of parties into the APC.
“Their aim is to have an opposition with much bite in the light of the way the APC government is exposing Jonathan’s tenure. They are looking at the rough side of politics towards 2019 and they think Sheriff can withstand the APC.”
A source at the ex-ministers’ session said: “We are parting ways with ex-President Jonathan if he is adamant on Sheriff. The battle line is drawn. We respect our principal, but he got it wrong this time around.
“We do not need Sheriff to reform PDP. And he cannot actually lead the party for some obvious reasons. He is not a team player and he has many controversies surrounding his style of politics.
“We knew the NWC and the governors have a different agenda. With Sheriff, the PDP cannot go far in 2019. Jonathan and these leaders should listen to the Board of Trustees (BOT) members.
“Jonathan can afford to take the risk with Sheriff because he has reached a dead end politically. We will not allow the ex-President to ruin our own future. Public perception does not favour Sheriff.”
The spokesman for former ministers in Jonathan’s administration, Dr. Suleiman Abubakar, in a terse statement in Abuja, said: “Our rescue mission has failed, the redemption boat has capsized and our journey to recovery has come to an end.
“Whosoever partook in the decision does not mean well for the party and democracy in Nigeria. It is obvious the fifth columnists have hijacked the party and they are hell bent on sinking it deeper into irrecoverable level of the pit.
“Some of us would rather review our membership than subject ourselves to selfish interests of a cabal whose main goal is political profiteering. After all our umbilical cord is not tied to any party.”
Meanwhile, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has predicted the death of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on whose back to hose to power in 1999 and 2003 but which was toppled at the polls by the All Progressives Congress (APC) on March 28 last year.
Reacting to yesterday’s emergence of Senator Alli Modu Sherrif as PDP’s new National Chairman, Obasanjo tweeted: “Let us have a minute of silence for PDP. I don’t expect anything else than this, not even when Ayo Fayose and Olisa Metuh are the microphone of the party.”
He added: “May the days ahead bring forth a better opposition party for Nigeria, that does not have a Boko Haram sponsor as its National Chairman.”
The former party chieftain, who earlier ruled Nigeria as a military dictator, advised the country’s youths to be wary of politicians, saying that they must accept themselves irrespective of their political beliefs.
He observed that while youths are busy fighting for PDP and APC, “politicians and leaders are busy inserting figures in the nation’s budget.”
Obasanjo noted that if the country is to get things right, Nigerian youths, either APC or PDP, must unite against enemies of the masses, as unity is a strong force to win the battle.
