By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

YESTERDAY’s decision of the Supreme Court to defer to May 25 further hearing on the issue of the locus of the Ahmed Makarfi faction of the People Democratic Party, PDP to bring a matter to court in the name of the party has further set party members on edge.

Sheriff and Makarfi

The main substance of the case before the Supreme Court is the appeal by the Senator Ahmed Makarfi led tendency of the PDP against the judgment of the Court of Appeal to confer legitimacy to the Ali Modu Sheriff tendency of the opposition party. However, before the main matter can be heard, the Sheriff tendency contested the aptness of the Makarfi led faction to file any suit in the name of the party for whatever reason.

Sheriff’s argument is based on the fact that the Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt had on February 17, 2017, determined Sheriff as the authentic chairman of the party. The court judgment was irrespective of the fact as claimed by the Makarfi led National Caretaker Committee of the party that it controlled the mainstream of the party.

Makarfi’s argument had been backed by the fact that all the major organs of the party, including the Board of Trustees, National Assembly Caucus and a majority of the governors were aligned towards his faction of the party.

However, two of the three-man panel of justices in Port-Harcourt did not buy the argument of the Makarfi faction and dismissed its claim to be the legal representative of the mainstream of the opposition party.

It was as such not surprising that once the appeal court gave its judgment that the Makarfi faction decided to appeal the judgment. The appeal was despite claims that the two factions had before the Port-Harcourt gave its judgment agreed not to prolong the case on the basis of the fact that the crisis in the party was robbing it of its potency as a viable opposition party.

The consequences of the crisis in the party were first seen in Delta State last week when the party lost one of its safest seats in the Delta State House of Assembly. The Warri 1 State Constituency seat was lost to Accord, a fringe party that had in the past been used by the mainstream of the party in the state to rebel against the national leadership.

Even more worrisome is the fact that several leading party members have on account of the crisis being defecting to other political parties, mainly the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. Yesterday, spokesmen of the two major tendencies in the party reacted separately to the decision of the Supreme Court.

While Prince Dayo Adeyeye, spokesman of the National Caretaker Committee led by Makarfi took the decision with philosophical equanimity even welcoming it as the best that they could hope for from the apex court, Mr. Bernard Mikko, spokesman of the Sheriff led tendency was welcoming.

They also spoke on how the division in the party is affecting the fortunes of the party.