Fayose, Daniel, others pass vote of confidence in Makarfi

• Ekiti gov asks Obasanjo to return his N10m ‘forced donation’
• Why we can’t work with Sheriff now, by PDP secretariat workers

The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has deepened as some party leaders in the South-West yesterday passed a vote of confidence in the Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee.

They described the court that recognised Senator Ali Modu Sheriff’s group as “usurpers” that did not mean well for the party.The leaders, who met in Ado-Ekiti under the aegis of South-West PDP, also declared support for the party’s appeal against the judgment of the Appeal Court, which validated the Sheriff-led executive.

Speaking at the meeting, Fayose said even if political solutions are to be preferred to the crisis, there are “some dirty elements we don’t know what they sold abroad to make money that we cannot sit together in the same party.”

The party leaders at the event included Governor Ayo Fayose, his deputy, Dr. Kolapo Olusola; former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel; Senator Iyiola Omisore, former PDP Deputy Chairman, Chief Bode George; former PDP National Vice Chairman, Mr. Tajudeen Oladipo and Senator Kofo Akerele-Bucknor, among others.

In another development, Fayose has asked former President Olusegun Obasanjo to return the N10 million he donated to his library project with interest to avoid embarrassment.

He said that all the 30 governors under the platform of the PDP in 2005 were forced to donate N10 million to the multi-billion naira project, describing this as the greatest fraud ever.

Fayose, who advised former President Obasanjo to stop seeing himself as a saint, said: “We were compelled to make the donation as PDP governors in 2005 and now I need the return of my money with interest.”

Meanwhile, members of staff of the national secretariat of the PDP have explained why they could not work with the Sheriff-led executive.The workers, who cited instances of continued violent disturbances at the secretariat, breaches of the PDP constitution and the Appeal Court judgment, as well as the pending case at the Supreme Court, said it was still very unsafe and insecure for them to resume work at the national secretariat.