Blame Makarfi, Mimiko for PDP’s loss in Ondo, says Sheriff

The Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has blamed the party’s loss in the just concluded governorship election in Ondo State, on the Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee.

The Sheriff group also attributed the party’s loss on impunity by Governor Olusegun Mimiko, adding that the opposition party would lose future elections if it does not retrace its steps. Deputy National Chairman of the group, Cairo Ojuogboh stated this in a press conference Monday.

The party has been enmeshed in national leadership crisis since the May 21 botched national convention in Port Harcourt, which produced the Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee. However, Sheriff insisted that he remains the national chairman of the party.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, Ojuogboh identified impunity and lack of respect for the PDP constitution and the rule of law as the major problems that led to the party’s failure in the Edo, Ondo Governorship as well as the recent poll in Imo North senatorial district.

“If the caretaker committee was not in place, Ondo and Edo will be in the pocket of PDP today. Our Senate that we lost in Imo State, we would also have gotten it. So, we have always maintained that the caretaker committee is an aberration and that it is an unnecessary distraction and the earlier they have the fear of God and retrace their steps, it will be better for the party,” he said.

He, however, called for peace and genuine reconciliation among aggrieved members of the party, to forge a common front ahead of the 2019 general elections.

After Collation of votes from the 18 Local Government Areas of Ondo State, APC won 14 council areas, PDP 2 LGAs, alliance for Democracy (AD) 2 LGAs.

But the Makarfi camp has accused the Sheriff group of working for the ruling party by fielding Jimoh Ibrahim, who not only disrupted Jegede’s campaign for four weeks but later campaigned for the APC.

Recall that PDP also lost 10 states to APC in the 2015 general elections namely: Benue, Kogi, Niger, Jigawa, Plateau, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Bauchi and Adamawa.

To Ojuogboh, the party lost the 10 states due to impunity on the part of governors. “We lost in all these states for a common reason, the governors imposed their surrogates and the people voted them out”.

Meanwhile, the Makarfi-led group has rejected the outcome of the just concluded gubernatorial election.

A statement by Spokesperson of the party, Dayo Adeyeye, accused the APC of rigging the election.

He said: “The outcome of the November 26, 2016 Gubernatorial Election in Ondo State as declared by Abdul-Ganiyu Ambali, the Chief Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is a charade and not the true reflection of the will of the people of Ondo State.

“INEC has however graduated from Inconclusive Elections as seen in Kogi, Bayelsa, Osun, FCT, Imo, Nassarawa and some other previous By-Elections in the Country to ‘Advanced Election Rigging’, as in the case of Edo and Ondo States Gubernatorial Elections”.