PDP announces amnesty for Sheriff, others

The National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday announced that it had granted amnesty for its former chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff and his sympathisers.

The Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee at a press briefing in Abuja stated that it had resolved not to sanction Sheriff for the role he played in the party’s crisis because of the need to bring all elements in the party on board.

Spokesman for the Caretaker committee, Dayo Adeyeye, who disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja, said the crisis was a very painful and agonising thing which the party would not want to experience again.

He said that although the Supreme Court held that the caretaker committee had powers to take any decision for the party, it had decided to extend hands of fellowship to Sheriff and his loyalists.

“Our hands are fully exrended to Sheriff and his loyalists. We want to give them full embrace. We won’t draw any battle line. It is normal for parties to have crisis. We have granted a general amnesty to every body particularly on offences committed before and during this crisis. We will only punish people for fresh offences. We want all to come in. So there will be no sanctions. We are even extending our hands to those who have left the party.”

On how the party would handle the crisis existing in many of its State chapters, Adeyeye said: “We will do justice to all. There are people illegally occupying some seats now in the States. But we are going to do justice. We also appeal to all those who had cases in court at state levels to withdraw them”

He noted that Nigerians are now happy “with us because the APC has become a monumental disaster”

He boasted that the 2019 election will be a walkover for the PDP adding that “they will now see verile opposition. We have given them two full years without opposition. We will bring out the evils of this government”.

 

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja