The opposition PDP elected former governor of Borno State Ali Modu Sheriff as its new chairman on 16 February. He takes over from acting chairman Uche Secondus, who was sacked by a court order.

But rather than marking a new beginning, Nigeria Politics & Security shows that Sheriff’s appointment has worsened the PDP crisis as the former governor, who is accused of having created Boko Haram during his time as governor, has been rejected by key party members.

Though Ali Modu Sheriff has denied any links to Boko Haram, the allegation has stuck. The surprise is why a party whose integrity has been questioned would choose a person whose integrity has been doubted as its Chairman.

But Ali Modu Sheriff’s emergence was engineered by the PDP’s current serving governors, who have now become the most influential block in the party since it lost power. The governors initially were said to have wanted former EFCC chairman, Nuhu Ribadu to take the role, but he rejected their overtures.

Sheriff is said to have been chosen by the governors, because he is considered to have the financial capacity to bankroll the party’s activities. There is also speculation that he may have agreed to serve for no more than two months until the PDP appoints a new chairman at the party’s national convention.

Members of the Board of Trustees of the party have expressed a strong opposition to Sheriff’s selection and called for him to step down, but the PDP governors’ forum issued a statement expressing their support for the new chairman.

Ex-ministers who served under the PDP from 1999 to 2015 have fixed a meeting on 23 February to take a stand on the newly appointed chairman. Sources have told Nigeria Politics & Security that, but for the active intervention of former president Goodluck Jonathan and other senior party leaders, many party members would have announced their exit from the PDP with the emergence of Sheriff as chair.

But rising from the negativity surrounding his appointment, the new chairman asserted that the PDP will reclaim power in 2019. He said that the party will soon come out with a master plan on how to take it back to Aso Rock in 2019. But the dream of reclaiming the presidency may be unravelling even before it starts as several PDP members in the National Assembly, who are opposed to his emergence, are threatening to leave the PDP if Ali Modu Sheriff’s appointment is allowed to stand.

About 50 party members in the House of Representatives and another 20 members in the Senate are said to be considering their positions. While any defections in the House could hurt the PDP, real political power still lies with the governors, who have greater influence in the political space than the members of the National Assembly.

As long as the PDP governors remain united, they could sustain a viable opposition against the APC even if members of the House defect. But significant damage may be done to the PDP’s reputation and capacity to contest, and win, an election if Ali Modu Sheriff is retained as chairman.