Ahmed Makarfi, chairman of the caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says the party has been living from hand to mouth.

Makarfi said this on Saturday while giving his opening remarks at the elective convention of the PDP.

The caretaker chairman said in the past 18 months, his committee has only had access to one bank account which has less than N2 million.

He said the payments of staff salaries, office needs, maintenance and operational expenses have been from party leaders and personal sacrifices.

“In addition to that, the acute financial position of the party did not help matters, as all but one of the bank accounts we inherited had been garnished by various court judgements on account of debts. The only bank account we have had access to these past 18 months is one that had less than two million naira,” Makarfi said.

“We virtually lived from hand to mouth. All that we have succeeded in doing, including the payments of staff salaries, office needs, maintenance and operational expenses have been from party leaders and our personal sacrifices.”

He said since the Supreme Court judgment which recognised the caretaker committee as valid, “things have been calmer, even though there are still some outstanding legal issues involving Ogun state as well as the south-west zonal leadership”.

“It is my hope that before long, litigations will cease to be the vehicle through which we resolve our issues in the PDP, as the party has adequate internal mechanisms of conflict resolution that are far better than washing our linens in public,” Makarfi said.

“I appeal to all members of our great party to eschew division and rancour and imbibe the culture of subsuming their individual interests into the larger interest of the party as the party is such a huge umbrella that is big enough to accommodate the interests of all of us.”

According to him, the committee has laid a “good foundation” for the re-positioning of the PDP.