PDP Chairmanship: Jonathan Denies Endorsing Sheriff

Jonathan on Monday received a delegation led by Sheriff at his Maitama, Abuja residence, where he referred to the former Borno State governor as “my chairman”, which prompted the belief that he endorsed him as the head of the PDP following last Friday’s appeal court judgement declaring Sheriff as the chairman of the opposition party.

In a statement by Jonathan’s media aide, Ikechukwu Eze, the ex-president described the claims as false, saying that the issue of endorsement never came up in their discussions.

According to the statement, Jonathan accepted the visit of Sheriff upon his request as he is prepared to broker peace among warring factions of the party in a bid to “help reposition PDP to enable it play a constructive role in the affairs of the nation”.

“Jonathan as a former president and foremost leader of the party welcomed Sheriff and some of his supporters to his house, in line with a mediation role he is playing towards unifying and strengthening the PDP,” Eze said in a statement.

“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 Walid Jubril, later in the evening.

“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.

“I wish to let those spinning this falsehood know that it just doesn’t add up to fly a contrived banner of endorsement in one breath, and in another, concede that the former president explained his commitment in meeting with different interest groups, towards resolving the differences in the party.”

Eze urged the media to avoid misleading reports on Jonathan, while he appreciated them for their interest in covering the activities of the former President.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the following are the former president’s exact words during the interview with newsmen, as had accurately been reported by most online and major national newspapers, as well as broadcast organisations:

‘We (PDP) are not factionalised. We are one. We are solving our problems. There are bound to be differences in politics. It is the way we resolve these differences that make us human beings and that is what makes us leaders. I have met with Sheriff. And I have met with others.

“While we appreciate the interest of journalists in the coverage of the activities of the former president, we urge accurate and constructive reporting, as it is a known fact that we cannot truly develop our nation, if journalists continue to twist and fabricate stories with the intent of misinforming the public.”