Ali Modu Sheriff says he remains the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) even though he was sacked at a shambolic convention in Port Harcourt on Saturday.
The motion to sack Mr. Sheriff was moved at the convention by former Akwa Ibom governor and current minority leader in the senate, Godswill Akpabio.
Gombe State governor Ibrahim Dankwambo, seconded the motion which paved the way for the election of a seven-man caretaker committee headed by the former governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makarfi, to oversee the affairs of the party in the interim.
Speaking to Premium Times through his media aide Inuwa Bwala, Sheriff said what transpired after he cancelled the convention was illegal.
“Immediately the chairman (Sheriff) received another court injunction, he called a meeting of the National Working Committee and told them that it wasn’t safe to continue with the convention of the party, especially since the court had forbidden elections virtually into all the offices,” Mr. Bwala said.
“He announced the suspension of the convention at a press briefing, only for some people to go behind and claim that there was convention.
“There was no organ of the party that was represented at the convention.
“The convention was cancelled, and it remains cancelled until such a time the matters in court are resolved, for us to convene another national convention.”
Asked why the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, and the Senate Minority Leader, Godwill Akpabio, parted ways with Mr. Sheriff, Mr. Bwala responded, “Some of them wanted to go on with the convention even with the subsisting court orders, and Sheriff said no. And that was their point of departure.”
Mr. Bwala said Mr. Sheriff felt betrayed in Port Harcourt.
“Naturally, you will feel betrayed if you are working with some people, only for them to go behind you to work against what you all agreed to do.”