Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti state, has described Ali-Modu Sheriff, factional leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a general without soldiers.
He said this in reaction to the court of appeal judgment that favoured Sheriff in the leadership tussle between him and Ahmed Markafi.
In a statement by Idowu Adelusi, his chief press secretary, Fayose said influential people in the party were solidly behind Markafi.
“Senator Ali Modu Sheriff is a general without soldiers let alone having a battalion. If he is sure of his stand and strength, let him go for a popularity contest with senator Ahmed Markafi,” he said.
“The court cannot choose our chairman for us. This issue is about democracy and the people. It is the PDP members that can decide who their leaders are. This, they have demonstrated in the Port Harcourt convention that was done in accordance with the constitution of the party.
“The party’s leadership is the national caretaker committee headed by senator Ahmed Markafi and it shall remain so until we do our convention to elect our leaders.”
He dared Sheriff to go for a popularity test with Markafi, saying people “posing” as Sheriff’s supporters were insignificant.
“Apart from the fact that most of the PDP members are with Markafi, let Nigerians check out the calibre of people supporting them,” he said.
“Without any gainsaying, Markafi is high above Sheriff. Markafi has the state governors supporting him. The national assembly caucus are backing Markafi. Former ministers, former governors, former members of the national assembly are also in support of Markafi.
“In quantity and quality of support, Markafi is shoulder higher above Sheriff who is only deluding himself with the rent-a-crowd politicians that he goes to town with. All the organs of the party, including the board of trustees, are firmly behind Markafi.”
Fayose, who initially supported Sheriff, said he backed out when he discovered Sheriff’s “ulterior motives”.
He accused the factional PDP leader of conspiring with the All Progressive Congress (APC) to destabilise the PDP.
“I don’t have regret supporting him ab initio, but when we discovered his discrepancies, I backed out. I saw that he is unfit, he is a pariah,” he said.
“Sheriff is an agent of the All Progressives Congress. He is a mole being used by the federal government to weaken and destabilise the PDP so that the APC will not have any virile opposition stressed.”
Fayose claimed Sheriff once flew into Port Harcourt from Abuja to meet him and Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers state, over the party’s leadership matter.
“He flew from Abuja to meet us in Port Harcourt. He came, prostrated, he held a Quran in his left hand and was saying, ‘Fayose, du Allah, I beg, don’t let me be shamed,” Fayose said.
“He was begging; we now told him, ‘you are not chairman yet, you are playing all these pranks, we are worried.’”
