Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike says that Nigeria will now have a viable opposition after the judgment of the Supreme Court on the leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
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The apex court had ruled that Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff should cease to be the PDP National Chairman and ordered the Senator Ahmed Makarfi led National Caretaker Committee to take over the leadership of the party.
Briefing reporters after the court judgement on Wednesday in Abuja, Governor Wike described the ruling as a victory for democracy.
He added: “This judgment shows that there will be opposition in Nigeria. I am very happy, Rivers people are very happy because we have no other party aside from the PDP”.
The governor expressed optimism that the PDP would emerge from the crisis stronger, stressing that all stakeholders would work hard to rebuild the party.
He said that the former PDP Chairman had called him last week to assure him that he would respect whatever decision reached by the Supreme Court.
Governor Wike, however, called on Senator Sheriff and his supporters to keep their word and work with other stakeholders in the interest of the party.
“I urge them to keep their word, all of us will work together to reposition the party. The party will go back to the drawing board to move ahead. I don’t see any reason why Sheriff will not be a part of the party. He spoke to me last week that whatever the situation is, he will remain in the party,” he said.
The governor noted that at the end of the day, it is expected that Senator Makarfi would meet with all stakeholders to plan the timetable for a national convention.
He congratulated all PDP members and urged them to build the bridge of friendship and reconciliation to move the party forward.
