By Ben Agande
ABUJA — Members of Peoples Democratic Party,  PDP, Rescue Group, have given conditions that would make them pledge their support for the leadership of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as chairman of the party.

This came as former Spokesperson to ex- President Goodluck Jonathan’s Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, said, yesterday, that he was not losing sleep over threat by the new national chairman of the Party to drag him to court.

In an interview with Vanguard in Abuja, members of the group said though they were impressed with the interventions of members of the National Assembly as well as the Board of Trustees, BoT, of the party, which have pegged the tenure of the present members of the National Working Committee, NWC, at three months, it would watch closely, activities of the NWC under Sheriff before giving their support.

It would be recalled that the PDP rescue group under the leadership of Amb. Wilberforce Juta, last week, rejected the chairmanship of Senator Sheriff, saying that his emergence as the national Chairman of the PDP was “against the will and wish of the generality of faithful members” of the party.

The group further alleged that “the manner of Senator Sherrif’s emergence had unleashed unnecessary controversy within the party and beyond.

“We assert that there cannot be any short cut to the truth. Part of the derailment from the values of our party over the years is the elevation of imposition over internal democracy as happened in the present appointment of the national chairman.

“Most party faithful do not see in Sen. Sheriff a model of impeccable integrity that the PDP badly needs to lead it at this critical moment.”

But following the intervention of critical stakeholders in the party, including the National Assembly, the Board of Trustees and PDP Governors Forum, it was agreed that Senator Sheriff should serve for three months after which he would organize the party’s national convention to elect new members of the NWC.

Speaking with Vanguard, former Minister of Information and member of the PDP Rescue Group, Mr John Odey, said members of the group were watching the new development with cautious optimism.

“We are watching events closely and the actions taken by the NWC in the next one week will determine whether we will support him or not.”

Meanwhile, Chief Femi Fani- Kayode said, yesterday, that he was not losing sleep following the threat to drag him to court by    Modu Sheriff.

Fani-Kayode in a statement noted that he stood by what he said, stressing that they would meet in court and that the era of silencing people with threats and litigations were long over.

The statement was signed by Fani- Kayode’s spokesman, Jude Ndukwe.

“We read the newspaper advert in Thisday newspaper in which Ali Modu Sheriff has threatened to sue Chief Femi Fani-Kayode.

‘’Though we have not received a formal letter from his lawyers to that effect we wish to inform him and members of the public that we stand by everything that we have said about Sheriff, we have briefed our lawyers, we welcome the suit and we shall gladly meet him in court.

“The days of silencing people with arrogant threats and frivolous litigation are long over. We cannot be silenced by Modu Sheriff’s threat to sue and we are not losing any sleep over it. Such a course of action will prove not only to be counter-productive for him but by the time it is all over he will get the shocker of his life.”