INEC Recognises Makarfi PDP

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has accorded recognition to the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee, NCC, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. 

The INEC’s decision to recognise the NCC of the PDP may have, at last, signified an end to the struggle for the control of the national leadership of the party between Senator Makarfi and the former National Chairman of the party and erstwhile Governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff. 

The Prof Mahmud Yakubu-led Commission, in its bulletin on Tuesday in Abuja, categorically stated that it has “ratified the administrative approval granted to the Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the judgment of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt by recognizing the National Caretaker Committee of the PDP for all its activities.” 

It will be recalled that INEC had hitherto refused to recognise any of the two factional chairmen-Makarfi and Sheriff-pending the resolution of the crisis by the court. Following the July 4 Federal High Court judgement in Port Harcourt, INEC recognised Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who emerged from the primary conducted by Senator Makarfi’s committee, as the PDP candidate for September 10 Edo State governorship election. 

The Commission did not send representatives to monitor the primary election conducted by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff faction because it failed to give it the mandatory 21 days notice as contained in the Electoral Act. Yesterday’s recognition however came on the heel of the forthcoming primary election for the Ondo State governorship election. The Ondo State governorship election is billed for November this year. 

It was gathered that the embattled Senator Modu Sheriff had been planning to conduct a parallel primary for the election. INEC, in its decision on July 14, 2016 and signed by the Director, Commission’s Secretariat, Ishiaku A. Gali, said it would recognize the National Caretaker’s activities such as “the conduct of primaries of political officers; and ‎the submission of the plaintiff’s list of the candidate for any election to be conducted by the commission.” 

The Commission stressed that, two weeks ago, it “received the candidate forwarded to it by the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led f

action of the PDP which had earlier secured an order from the Port Harcourt High Court.” Sheriff, it will be further recalled, had maintained then that it secured court judgement ordering INEC to accept the list of his faction’s candidates for both the Edo and Ondo governorship elections. The INEC’s decision of yesterday has however laid the contending issues to rest.








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