President
Goodluck Jonathan on Monday evening engaged some Peoples Democratic
Party governors in what seemed to be a fence-mending meeting.
The meeting, believed to have been
brokered by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, took place after an
earlier one the former President had with the governors.
The presence at the meeting of Governors
Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); and Babangida Aliyu
(Niger), who had visited some former national leaders, gave fillip
to the belief that the meeting was meant to resolve the rift in the
PDP.
Other governors in attendance as of the
time of filing this report at 10pm were those of Katsina, Cross River,
Taraba, Benue, Ebonyi, Gombe, Abia, Kwara, Enugu, Delta and Akwa Ibom
states.
It was learnt that the Delta State
Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, and his Cross River State
counterpart, Mr. Liyel Imoke, had convinced Obasanjo to summon the
meeting with the aim of ending the lack of cohesion among the PDP
governors.
Uduaghan and Imoke were said to have
implored the former President to end the perceived rift between him
and the President in the interest of the PDP.
Investigations on Monday showed that
the two governors had also met with Obasanjo on the need for him to
intervene in the disagreement between Jonathan and the Governor of
Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.
It was learnt that having been
convinced by Uduaghan and Imoke, the former President then invited
the PDP governors to the meeting which held in the Presidential
Villa.
A governor, who was privy to the
Obasanjo-governors meeting, said the former President personally signed
the letter inviting all the PDP governors. He said that before doing
so, Obasanjo had demanded to know what role they expected him to play.
It was also gathered that the former
President was told that Jonathan still owed his emergence as President
to him and that it would not be in his interest if Jonathan failed
and the party disintegrated.
The governor said, “We are worried about
the body language of the former President. His refusal to be part of
activities in the party is worrisome. Also, the impression that Baba (Obasanjo) and the President are fighting is not helping the polity and the Presidency.
“The party is shaking, especially with
the registration of the All Progressives Congress. We want the former
President to help douse the tension in our party.”
The governor said that the influence of
the former President on some of the governors, especially those from the
Northern part of the country could not be underrated.
“Obasanjo’s influence on the four
governors from the North, who have been moving from one state to
another is overwhelming. He can talk to them and there would be peace, “
he added.
He was referring to governors Sule
Lamido (Jigawa); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); Babangida Aliyu (Niger);
and Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano).
The four governors and their Sokoto
State counterpart, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko, had met with Obasanjo and some
former leaders to complain about happenings in the party.
Our source said as a mark of honour
and in order to carry the President along, the PDP governors had met
with Jonathan at the Presidential Villa on Sunday night.
The meeting, he said, ended at 4.08am on Monday.
“At the meeting with the President, we told him not to create any gulf between himself and the former President,’’ he said.
The source added that the meeting
between Obasanjo and the PDP governors on Monday night took place at
the Presidential Villa.
Our source said that Obasanjo told
them (the governors) that they might remain there until the early hours
of Tuesday if issues raised were not covered in time.
The governor said it was unfortunate
that the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, had not met
with the governors once since he assumed office.
Tukur, has, however defended himself on this allegation, saying he used to meet them regularly.
He said, “Our governors are our
governors. We meet with our members regularly. I just came back from a
tour and we are going to be meeting with them regularly .”
At a news briefing in Abuja on Monday,
Tukur said that the PDP leadership had set up a reconciliation
committee because it wanted harmony.
He said the party would use what he described as “stick and carrot” to achieve peace.
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Foolish people!!!
ReplyDeleteFew elites uniting against the majority poor.We must unite at the bottom to stop the uncontrollable looting of our future.
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