BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

CHIEF DAN ORBIH is the Edo State chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Following the announcement by the Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff faction of the party suspending him from the party for three months and the appointment of a caretaker committee to run the party’s affairs in Edo, Orbih called on the National Caretaker Committee headed by Senator Ahmed Markafi to expel Sheriff and those supporting him from the party in the overall interest of the party. In this interview, he also said that Sheriff cannot suspend him or his state executive as they were duly elected by the party faithfuls.

Excerpts:

WHAT is your party’s next line of action with the election and emergence of a parallel governorship candidate?

DAN ORBIH

We have already rolled out our programme for campaigns and very soon we are going to formally have the official declaration of our candidate and he is going to flag off his campaigns, roll out his programmes that will rescue the state from the deceitful APC government of Adams Oshiomhole. And I think the stage is set for the battle to reclaim Edo state from the hands of APC.

What is your reaction to your suspension from the PDP by Senator Ali- Modu Sheriff ?

Alhaji Modu Sheriff is a former acting National Chairman of the party. For us in PDP, Modu Sheriff is now history. Here is a man who was given a position by the National Executive Committee of the party against stiff opposition from party elders who knew him very well. All that I can advise him is that he should look for a very good Christian and ask about the story in the Bible about King Solomon and the two women who were in dispute about the ownership of a child. They both claimed to be the mother of the child and King Solomon in his wisdom said he was going to divide the child.

The true mother rose to the occasion and said, don’t divide the child. From there we knew who the true mother of the child was. It is obvious that from the body language and actions of Modu Sheriff that he is not a true member of the party because for him, he is on a mission to destroy the party and all that we stand for as PDP members and I want to appeal to him not to destroy the party. For us in Edo state, we want to ignore the statement from Sheriff because to me his statement talking of the suspension of a duly elected state executive council is the ranting of a sinking former acting national chairman.

Ali Modu Sheriff

It is rather sad to note that a man, who was once a governor and senator has allowed himself to be in a situation where people are now thinking that there is more to what we are seeing. Many party members said that they are surprised going by his antecedent that we are in a situation where he is doing everything within his power to assume the character of a bull in a China’s shop. For us in Edo state PDP, we have decided to ignore Sheriff because he was never an elected chairman of the party, at some point, he was appointed as acting national chairman for three months and at the expiration of the three months, it was just natural that he should pack his load and go home. But he is now holding on as if everything in his life depends on this position.

I remain the elected chairman of PDP in Edo state and not a hundred Sheriff can dissolve my executive. I am not even bothered about his statement but for the unnecessary distraction from our party members who keep asking, phoning daily to ask me what Sheriff is up to. Let me use this opportunity to say that Sheriff from all indications is working with Governor Adams Oshiomhole and APC in Edo state to see how they can cause disaffection among the members of our party.

Oshiomhole

No amount of efforts by Sheriff and his fellow-travellers will distract us from our mission to rescue the state from the arms of the deceitful APC government of Adams Oshiomhole.

Don’t you think the leadership of the party may have made a mistake of appointing him as acting chairman despite stiff oppositions from Prof. Jerry Gana and others?

All that is history. What we are concerned about now is the way forward and the way forward is to expel these characters that appear to be acting the scripts of the All Progressives Congress, APC) In whatever form, they should be expelled from the party because Ali-Modu Sheriff is bad news to PDP.