Makarfi's road to victory

The Supreme Court has sacked Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and installed Senator Ahmed Makarfi as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The five-man panel reached a unanimous decision on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 to put an end to the leadership crisis that rocked the party since May 21, 2016 when it attempted to remove Sheriff as chairman.

The judgement was read by Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, who accused Sheriff of displaying "infantile desperation to cling to office at all cost".

In addition to the judgement, the court also awarded the sum of N200,000 against Sheriff, as well as Prof. Wale Oladipo who was the party's National Secretary under him.

In May 2017, the court had struck out an appeal by Sheriff to prevent it from hearing Makarfi's appeal which he filed after the Appeal Court declared Sheriff the authentic chairman of the party in February.

Sheriff had been installed as the party's National Working Committee (NWC) chairman in an acting capacity until he was removed during the party's 2016 National Convention.

Makarfi replaced him then as the party's caretaker chairman.

Sheriff, a former governor of Borno state, rejected the convention's decision, declaring that any other chairman was a 'counterfeit'.

In February, he said, “Any other chairman is a counterfeit, a carbon-copy, a photocopy. I was eating and drinking in the comfort of my home when the elders and the leaders of the party from across the country came to beg me to take the mantle of leadership of the party."

"They later found out that I was not a chairman they can control or push around. They know I will not accept elections handouts from anybody, hence they made a U-turn."