BY Dyepkazah Shibayan
Ahmed Makarfi, former chairman of the caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has dismissed a statement made by Asari Dokubo, leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Salvation Force (NDPSF).
In a recent interview, Dokubo said Makarfi voted for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 presidential election and displayed his ballot paper for everyone to see.
But in a statement on Sunday, Mukhtar Sirajo, spokesman of Makarfi, quoted the PDP leader as saying that the statement is false.
The senator said he has never displayed his ballot paper at any election he participated in.
“Our attention has been drawn to an interview granted the Sun newspaper by Alhaji Asari Dokubo and published on Saturday, March 3, 2018, in which he alleged, among other things that Senator Ahmed Makarfi voted for the APC in the 2015 presidential elections and that he (Makarfi) flaunted his ballot paper for all to see,” the statement read.
“Ordinarily, this is a statement we shouldn’t dignify with a response, but realising that sometimes uncontroverted falsehoods have a way of taking a life of their own and also knowing that it is not beyond some unscrupulous politicians to splash mud on the integrity of others in order to gain undue advantage, we wish to state the following;
“That statement is false in all ramifications; in fact given that Makarfi is not an obscure politician, having been governor of Kaduna state for eight years and following that up with another eight years at the Senate and capping those up leading the PDP at a very tumultuous period which was charaterised by acrimonious leadership struggle; isn’t it amazing that this could happen in 2015 and be buried till now?
“Moreover, from 1999 to 2015, Senator Makarfi, never skipped voting in any election; yet he has never been reported by any medium to have ever displayed his ballot paper to advertise his preference. We leave this judgment to the people.”
Makarfi said Dokubo should refrain from fabricating “lies to impugn the integrity of others.”
He called on PDP members not to be distracted from returning the party to power in 2019.
“Having discerned where he is coming from, by his own admission, we wish to assure him and all, that we have nothing but respect for all members of the PDP family, aspirants or otherwise and wish them well,” he said.
“And it is our desire and hope that we all close ranks and collectively confront the challenges ahead. We call on all PDP leaders, members and supporters to maintain their eyes on the ball, by refusing to be distracted from the bigger picture, which is returning the party to power so that Nigerians can, once again, heave a sigh of relief.
“This we can do only by ensuring that we play politics of issues and forging a united front, without compromising decency, respect and love for our party and country.”
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