The seven aggrieved governors of the
Peoples Democratic Party are waiting for
President Goodluck Jonathan to invite
them to a meeting on how to resolve
the crisis rocking the ruling party.
The spokesperson for the New PDP, Mr.
Chukwuemeka Eze, who stated this in
an interview with our correspondent in
Abuja on Friday, said the governors
would attend the meeting anytime it
was called.
The governors are Rabiu Kwankwaso
(Kano), Aliyu Wamakko(Sokoto),
Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), Sule Lamido
(Jigawa), Aliyu Babangida(Niger),
Abdulfatai Ahmed(Kwara ) and Murtala
Nyako(Adamawa).
Before now, the President had met with
the aggrieved governors twice with a
view to finding solutions to their
grievances, which made them form a
faction of the ruling party.
The last meeting was a consultation
where the representatives of the
governors met with the President and
few leaders of the party to inform the
President that some of their colleagues
had travelled to Saudi Arabia for the
hajj.
The meeting, which was held on
October 16 at the Presidential Villa, was
attended by Amaechi, Aliyu and
Kwankwaso.
It was gathered that while the President
granted the permission of the governors
to shift the meeting till after the
Muslim pilgrimage, he also informed
them that he would also be visiting
Israel to perform the Christian
pilgrimage with some of the governors
on his side.
Eze told our correspondent that since
both sides had returned from their
pilgrimages, the meeting could come up
anytime from now.
He said, “We are expecting the
President to call the meeting anytime
from now. Our governors are ready and
I can tell you that they would be at the
meeting because they respect him and
his office.
“There is no way we would not attend
the meeting because we want peace to
return to our party and we want to
discuss how to do this with the
President.
“The last meeting could not hold
because a majority of our governors had
travelled to Mecca and the President
also told them that he too would be
going to Israel. Now, both sides are
back, they can meet anytime soon.”
Asked if the governors would still insist
on their demands, Eze said nothing had
changed since the last meeting to
warrant shifting of ground, but added
that the bottomline would be to make
their party better.
Eze listed the demands by the
governors to include the removal of the
National Chairman of the PDP, Bamanga
Tukur, presidential recognition of
Amaechi as the chairman of the Nigeria
Governors’ Forum, stoppage of alleged
harassment of members of their group
by security agents and restoration of
peace to Rivers State chapter of the
party.
“These are just our demands, which we
consider to be sensible, feasible and
could be met in order to restore peace
to the party,” Eze added.
Meanwhile, Kwankwaso has been slated
to be among the three key discussants
at the Progressive Governors’ Forum,
which holds in Abuja on Wednesday.
The PGF is made up of the 11 governors
elected on the platform of the APC.
It is not clear if Kwankwaso has agreed
to defect to the opposition party, but its
leaders met with him in Kano on
Thursday where he was invited to pitch
his tent with the opposition party.
Apart from the Kano State governor,
others slated as discussants include the
Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams
Oshiomhole, and the Governor of Imo
State, Mr. Rochas Okorocha.
A document obtained by our
correspondent showed that a former
National Chairman of the defunct All
Nigeria Peoples Party, Dr. Ogbonnaya
Onu, will chair the occasion.
The Interim National Chairman of the
APC, Bisi Akande, is listed as the
champion of Greater Nigeria while a
former Head of State, Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) will give the
keynote address.
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