Peoples Democratic Party governors, who played a hand in bringing in Ali Modu Sheriff as the party chairman have turned tail and orchestrated a fine plan to ensure that he is ousted at the forthcoming National convention party billed to begin in May.

According to reports, the governors are in cahoot with the Board of Trustees of the party over this plan and it does look like it might well work out.

The same governors had backed Sheriff to the National chairmanship of the party on February 23 despite registered grievances from former ministers and other key figures in the party.

The resultant brouhaha led the BOT as well as the party’s National Executive Committee on March 7, to declare that come May 21, National Working Committee as well as Sheriff would vacate office while a national convention was also fixed for that date.

As the convention and congresses draw closer, the party is yet to announce the sales of nomination forms giving rise to suspicions of clandestine moves by Sheriff to ensure that he retains his position as party chairman by ensuring that the zoning of the position falls to the North East, where he hails from.

One of the governors told Punch Newspapers that Sheriff will not be allowed to finesse his way into the office permanently while revealing that the governors have jointly given him till Sunday, April 10 to set up a working committee.

He stated that even though the Chairmanship might go to the North, it was highly unlikely that it would be zoned to the North East. In effect, if the predictions of the governor should be true, then Sheriff would be ineligible to even contest for the seat.

He said, “We are convinced that the North should hold the position of the national chairman, but it won’t go to the North-East.”

“Apart from Sheriff, we have had two other chairmen from the zone. Bamanga Tukur and Adamu Mu’azu are from the zone. Beside this, we also have two governors from the zone now. With this, we believe that we are well represented in the area.”

“Then, we have had national chairmen from the North-Central as well. Chief Adudu Ogbeh, Sen. Barnabas Gemade, Kawu Baraje, late Solomon Lar are all from the zone. We also still have some members of the National Assembly and other elected officials from this zone.”

“With this, you will agree with me that the zone where the party has real problem is the North-West, where we don’t have much elected officials as expected.”

“This is the zone of the President and it is the only zone with seven states in the country, we need to curry the favour of the voters in this zone and this is the reason why we are seriously considering the zone as the place where our national chairman should come from.”

Olisa Metuh, National Publicity Secretary of the party, weighing in on the delay in the formation of the NWC by the NEC revealed that the members would soon be made public.

Metuh further passed a vote of confidence on Sheriff but stated that he would only vote for him “if he decides to contest and if the office is zoned to his area.”

Metuh had said, “We are setting up the committees next week and I can tell you that we would inaugurate them within the week as well.”

“The chairman is doing very well and we are proud of him. He’s the best thing to have happened to the party in the recent times.

“He hasn’t said he will contest, but if the office is zoned to his area and he decides to contest, I will support him and even campaign for him. He’s doing well.”

The question to ask now is, will the candidacy be zoned to Sheriff’s North East?