Former President Goodluck Jonathan has refuted reports that he endorsed controversial Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.
In a statement issued by a media aide, Ikechukwu Eze on Tuesday, February 21, 2017, the former president said that he was playing a mediatory role between the sparring faction of the PDP, the largest opposition party in Nigeria.
According to the statement, Dr. Jonathan also received members of the Makarfi-led national executive committee of the party on Monday, a day after receiving alleged Boko Haram sponsor, Ali Modu Sheriff who obtained an Appeal Court judgement naming him as the “authentic chairman” of the PDP.
He stated that Jonathan opened his doors to Sheriff upon his request, just as he had earlier done to the Makarfi-led caretaker committee members, adding that the former President was prepared to broker more talks until the issues in the leadership of the PDP were finally resolved.
“Indeed, it may interest you to know that after meeting with Sheriff, the former President also met with Senator Ahmed Makarfi, leader of the PDP Caretaker Committee, and the party’s Board of Trustees chairman, Senator WalidJubril, later in the evening,” Eze wrote.
Eze emphasised that “as a peace-loving leader of the party, the former president’s interest is to help reposition PDP to enable it play a constructive role in the affairs of the nation, in view of the imperative of deepening the nation’s democracy.”
