As the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP continue preparations for its next national convention scheduled for Port Harcourt on August 17, highly competent sources close to its leadership hinted THISDAY last night that a “Plan B” is in the party’s bag, in case former acting national chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff continues to distract the party.

The party has been in turmoil, several weeks after its last National Convention in Port Harcourt, where the tenure of Sheriff was terminated and Ahmed Makarfi appointed as acting national chairman.

However, Sheriff refused to recognise Makarfi and has been parading himself as acting national chairman, while also using the court to frustrate efforts to properly reposition the party.

An apparently frustrated member of PDP’s Board of Trustee, BoT who pleaded for anonymity, said that every effort being made to unite the PDP was being frustrated by Sherriff “despite several court orders that effectively nullified his tenure as interim chairman.”

The source said the party’s leaders had resolved that should all the peace overtures to the renegade Sheriff fail, they would all leave the party with all the governors and national assembly members to form a new party with a new name and “leave the rump to sherrif, to continue with his charade.”

He added: “Sheriff is President Buhari’s in law (his son is married to one of Buhari’s daughers). The thinking among the party leaders is that the All Progressives Congress is using him to continue this distraction of the PDP. The APC has found in Sheriff a willing tool to destabilise the opposition party. We know their game plan. But we will not allow them to kill the opposition; more so now that Nigerians are being pummeled by the APC government. The APC is struggling to face the reality that it must pack out of Aso Rock by 2019. A weakened PDP is in the interest of President Buhari and the APC and Sheriff is there to ensure they achieve their objective.”

The source also revealed that PDP is ready to move on from its loss of power, reposition itself for 2019 in order to do that it needs to earn the trust of Nigerians by providing a virile opposition which Sheriff is frustrating.”

Meanwhile, the

ambition of media mogul, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, to lead the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appears to have been truncated by leaders of the party from the Southwest, Southeast and Southsouth.

PDP governors, National Assembly members, ex-ministers and other leaders from the South at a crucial meeting in Port Harcourt on Thursday ahead of the August 17 national convention billed for the city, zoned the post to the Southwest.

Also out of the race is Uche Secondus, former acting national chairman, who is from Rivers State.

Dokpesi is from Edo State. Edo and Rivers are in Southsouth.

Although Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who briefed reporters at the end of the meeting, said any member willing to contest any position was free to do so, he was quick to advise them to respect the zoning formula.

Also zoned to the Southwest are the positions of national treasurer and deputy national publicity secretary.

PDP zoned the positions of first deputy national chairman, national legal adviser, deputy national women leader and deputy national auditor to the Southsouth, while Southeast got national organising secretary, national youth leader and deputy national financial secretary.

The party’s stalwarts from the Southwest, who have signified their intention to contest the national chairmanship include former the Chairman of the Nigerian Port Authority, Chief Bode George and ex-minister Prof. Taoheed Adedoja.