Four Northern governors, who are still aggrieved over certain political developments in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Tuesday, took their grievances to the doorsteps of former President Shehu Shagari, pleading with him to intervene.
The governors, who began their meeting with Shagari at about 11:45 am, were led by the state Governor, Aliyu Wamakko. His visitors were: Sule Lamido of Jigawa, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano and Murtala Nyako of Adamawa state.
Vanguard learnt that the fifth governor, Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, who would have been part of the delegation, had travelled to Saudi Arabia for religious purposes.
The governors are said to have pleaded with Shagari to prevail on President Goodluck Jonthan to take urgent steps to salvage the party and the nation from certain perilous individuals and agencies bent on derailing the democratic gains already attained by the nation.
The governors, who were summoned for crucial talks with President Jonathan at the weekend, appeared to still be upset by the rumoured ambition of Jonathan to run for a second term in 2015.
The plan, according to informed sources, is said to run against the interest of the north to present a consensus candidate for the top post.
The northern governors are said to be angry that Jonathan is trying to repudiate on a gentleman agreement he had with them in 2010 to serve only a term after completing the remaining tenure of late President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua.
But addressing journalists after the meeting, Adamawa Governor, Murtala Nyako, explained that they were in Sokoto to brief the former President on the state of affairs in the country and to seek his advice on how to move the nation forward.
“We briefed the elder statesman on the political development in the country and what we think should bone in the interest of the generality of the people,” Nyako told media men.
The five governors had already paid similar visits to former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalam Abubakar, during which they tebaled some complaints against the leadership of the administration and the PDP.
Before then, they had paid a solidarity visit to their Rivers State counterpart and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Rotimi Amaechi, in Port Harcourt, during which they narrowly escaped the wrath of aggrieved politicians who confronted them with stones and placards.
Worried that the face-off with the northern governors, who are all serving out their last tenure of office, could affect the fortunes of the party in the next election, President Jonathan on Saturday summoned them to a crucial meeting at the Villa to sort out grey areas.
But at the secret parley, the governors tabled some conditions to be met by the President for them to sheath their sword.
One of the governors’ demands is that the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur should be sacked along with some powerful ministers in the cabinet whose offices have contributed to massive looting of the nation’s economy and heightened poverty.
The governors also demanded the Presidency to put an end to the political crisis in Rivers State, which has threatened to torpedo the nation’s fragile democracy.
But the Presidency reacted angrily to the suggestion by the governors that Tukur should be sacked, saying that Jonathan could not do that without a national convention, which also elected the embattled chairman.
Names put forward for consideration as Tukur’s replacement, have reportedly been rejected by the President. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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Na obama u guys will go see next o or go to the moon!!either u guys like it or not, Nigeria must divide!! Cz its evident that we can't remain united. Too mush selfish/ethnic interest has polluted the system.
ReplyDeleteWhy must GEJ make such covenant with them in the first place? it shows how desperate and power hungry he is too. His interest is certainly for him and his wife and not for nigerians.
ReplyDeleteThese our Northern Governors must see themselves as gods. Firstly you cant dictate to a sitting President anywhere in the world. You dont have to like his policies or even his person but as long as he remains your President you are duty bound to follow his leadership. Look at them calling for the removal of others because they do not like their faces and are supposedly corrupt. Which of them can boast that he has not looted the treasury of his state blind. The north has the worst of everything in the country and in terms of development are the more backward yet they have the nerve to call others corrupt. As far as i am concerned these men are spent forces and are only looking for a way to remain relevant after 2015. If they were so powerful they wouldnt be going around pleading with ex Heads of State and Presidents to intercede on their behalf.They should read the hand writing on the wall, if an election was to be held in this country today,tomorrow or even 2015 the incumbent president will win hands down whether elections are free or not simply because there is simply no better alternative. The nation is going through a quiet revolution (not the type those who belong to Soyinkas wasted generation have envisaged)and we need to learn the simple fact that democracy does not imply equity and justice to all (as the travor case in the USA as shown)but offers a way for society to continue to move forward and improve on its weaknesses so as to become stronger.The aim is not for equality of all within the populace (which is not possible) but for equal opportunities to all. There are no set rules to having a just society or no idle person to lead a country but there must always be a will to move forward as a people and to always put the nation first before self. The fact that you are not relevant today does not mean that all hope is lost or you will not be relevant tomorrow.My advise to them is this; Nigeria is not as bad as they make it out to seem or better put is not worse of now than it has ever been under any previous government except probably the pre independence colonial govt so they need to stop overheating the polity with their selfish and mindless statements and contribute positively towards the nations growth and above all live by example.I stand to be corrected that Nigeria has been corrupt from inception and all our past, present and yes future leaders will remain corrupt as long as we do not start to see value in ourselves irrespective of tribe or religion and remain blinded by it. As a final say i want to state and maintain that Nigeria will remain as one irrespective of what happens and that the north must move away from the colonial mentality of believing that power belongs to them. The sooner they realise this the better it will be for the them and the thousands of masses they are keeping in perpetual poverty because of lack of education and religious and ethnic bigotry.
ReplyDeleteMr Niyi, u seems 2 hv succeeded in saying nothing.
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ReplyDeleteI don't want GEJ in 2015 and so is the North and anyone who's in the system now or have been in the system before... enough of looting lets have a new set of carbonates and stop reclining old coke in new bottle simple...
ReplyDelete