Battle line drawn between Sheriff and Markarfi

The leadership tussle between Ali Modu Sheriff and Ahmed Markafi is set to be extended to another lengthy episode as both parties havefailed to reach a consensus. Ali Modu Sheriff The former Borno state governor, Ali Modu Sheriff and the Ahmed Markafi who leads the Caretaker Committee of the opposing People’s Democratic Party have failed to reach common grounds in the dramatic battle for the chairmanship position of the party amidst reports of a possible settlement.
A Sunday report by Punch newspaper from Abuja revealed that the option of settlement seems to be absent on the list of the warring parties as they failed to nominate representatives for the Peace Committee. The idea of setting up the Peace Committee was instigated by the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase who issued an ultimatum for the party leaders to end the lingering crisis which has entailed the use of violence.
A correspondent gathered that hardliners in both camps were insisting that to accede to the suggestion of the IGP would be

akin to accepting defeat. It was also gathered that when the issue was brought up by members of the Makarfi-led committee, stakeholders within the group resisted.
A source sympathetic to Makarfi’s cause who pleaded anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter said, “It was rejected outright. How can we who enjoy the backing of more than 99.99 per cent of our party members negotiate our mandate? The people who brought Sheriff in the first place have come out to say go, your tenure has expired thank you but he wants to stay put, you want us to negotiate on what terms?

A former PDP National Vice Chairman (South South), Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, said if the law was the basis of the argument, Sheriff should be the party chairman because an Abuja High Court whose ruling had neither been appealed or vacated “pronounced him chairman till 2018.”