PDP CRISIS: Sheriff heads to Supreme Court to ‘kill’ Makarfi’s appeal

National chairman of the PDP, Sen Ali Modu Sheriff is on his way to the Supreme Court, to challenge an appeal by Sen Ahmed Makarfi seeking to unseat him.

Makarfi, who heads the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caretaker Committee had gone to the apex court seeking to reverse the Port Harcourt Appeal Court judgement that sanctioned Senator Sheriff as the party’s national chairman.

Sheriff, has however applied to the Supreme Court, praying for the withdrawal of Senator Makarfi’s appeal, contending that he (Makarfi) has no right to file using the name of the PDP in his suit, having been unseated by the Port Harcourt Appeal Court ruling.

The Makarfi-led faction of the party had in its appeal to the apex court, with suit number SC.133/2017, filed on February 27, challenged the February 17, 2017 ruling that authenticated Sheriff as chairman of the troubled PDP.

But Sheriff and his National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, in their motion to discontinue the appeal before the apex court, is contending among other things that there is no known law supporting the appeal by Makarfi.

The motion was filed at the apex court on March 16, 2017 through their led counsel, Chief Akinlolu Olujinmi (SAN).

Part of the motion read, “More importantly, however, the persons who have instigated the filing of the appeal and instructed lawyers to act for the appellant (namely Senator Ahmed Makarfi, Senator Ben Obi, and Mr. Dayo Adeyeye, who continue to style and parade themselves as the ‘national Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party’), do not have the authority or power to do so.

“The corporate personality of the appellant can only be invoked by its legal alter ego, vide the National Working Committee/National Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, consisting of the first and second respondents (Sheriff and Oladipo) and other officers represented by them, not Senators Ahmed Makarfi, Senator Ben Obi, and Mr. Adeyeye, who are not officers of the appellant (the PDP) at all, as confirmed by the judgment of the lower court.”

Also in an affidavit Oladipo filed supporting the motion, he stated that Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), has been written to forthwith desist from acting as counsel for the PDP.

He said that Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) and Dr. Alex Iziyon (SAN) had now been chosen in place of Olanipekun.

“I also know that as a fact that a letter was also written to Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) requiring him to stop acting as counsel for the PDP as he was never authorised by the chairman.

“The said Senators Makarfi, Obi and Mr. Adeyeye have so demonstrated disrespect for the judicial process and the proceedings before this honourable court by their utterances.

“I know as a fact that the PDP has not authorised anyone, including Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) to file any appeal against the judgment of the lower court delivered on February 17, 2017”, the document stated.

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