The factional National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ali Modu Sheriff, has said he is ready to vacate his office only if the party’s leadership ask him to leave.
Sheriff’s comment follows the leadership crises currently rocking the opposition party after PDP claimed that the tenure of the factional leader had elapsed.
The party went ahead to inaugurate Sen. Ahmed Makarfi as the Chairman of a National Caretaker Committee to take over the leadership of the party.
But speaking when some state chairmen of the party paid him a solidarity visit in Abuja yesterday, Sheriff maintained that it was wrong for a faction of the party to attempt to push him aside when he was elected by the members of the party at its National Executive Committee meeting.
According to Sheriff, “I’m ready to go. I’m not saying I must be the national chairman at all costs. I was invited to lead the party and the election that brought me to office was done at the NEC Hall of the party at its national secretariat.
“Four other aspirants contested against me at the NEC meeting.
“The governors invited me among others to be considered by the NEC and the NEC sat and elected me as the national chairman of the party
“There’s nothing personal about my being there or individual pride about it. It is about the rule of law and the rule of law must not give way to illegalities.”
The former Borno State governor told the state chairmen that he was aware that his tenure would end in 2018, stressing that the former chairman that he replaced, Ahmed Mu’azu, was elected in 2014.
“Ahmed Mu’azu got his election when former President, Goodluck Jonathan was elected as the party’s presidential candidate in 2015. I replaced him. So, my tenure would expire after four years in office,” he added.