-Amaechi, Akpabio in shouting match
-Talks rescheduled
For about two hours Monday night, governors
elected on the platform of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) traded blames before
ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo on the crises
threatening to cripple the ruling party.
The ex-President had asked the governors to
speak on their grievances. Each had three
minutes.
President Goodluck Jonathan was not at the
meeting, which was tagged “exploratory”.
The open complaint approach, however,
created tension, with governors Rotimi
Amaechi (Rivers) and Godswill Akpabio (Akwa
Ibom) engaging in a shouting match.
After taking complaints from all, Obasanjo said
the meeting would continue last night.
It was learnt that there were eight issues
tabled at the tension-soaked meeting at the
Presidential Villa.
They are: division within PDP leadership;
disagreement between some governors and the
National Chairman of the party, Alhaji
Bamanga Tukur; the implosion in the Nigeria
Governors Forum (NGF); crises in some states;
Anambra governorship poll; Rivers crisis;
reconciliation within the party; and the alarm
raised by five Northern governors on how to
keep the party intact and win the 2015 poll.
It was learnt that most of the governors spoke
on the eight issues.
Obasanjo chose only to be a listener and a
moderator.
A source, who spoke in confidence, said:
“Obasanjo made sure he met alone with the
governors. Contrary to the expectations of
some of the governors, President Goodluck
Jonathan was not at the session.
“Apparently acting on representations made by
various governors to him, Obasanjo set the
tone of the meeting, which he said had to do
with the challenges being faced by PDP.
“He told us that the meeting would be
‘exploratory’ and each of the 23 governors of
the party will be allowed to talk for only three
minutes on why the party is in crises and the
polarisation of PDP governors.
“Shortly after the introductory remarks, the
governors started speaking on their grievances
and how to resolve the crises rocking the
party.
“Virtually all the governors agreed that things
were upside down in the party.”
A governor reportedly told Obasanjo: “We
know you can address the challenges facing
PDP. If we go into election in this state, our
party will lose in 2015. Please, don’t be tired
to resolve these problems.”
Another source spoke of how a governor said
there was no point discussing the points being
raised by five Northern governors because, in
his view, they had made up their mind to go to
another party.
“But Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso interjected by
saying: ‘No one is defecting to another party;
we are not going to any new or merger party.
We will remain in PDP and restore order. That
is not the intention of the five governors when
we decided to intervene.”
A governor, who spoke in confidence, said:
“Some of us tried to draw Obasanjo’s attention
to the fact that the disagreement over the
election of the Chairman of the Nigeria
Governors Forum (NGF), Mr. Rotimi Amaechi,
was an integral part of the crises affecting PDP.
“Some anti-Amaechi governors shouted no, no,
no. They insisted that the NGF crisis had
nothing to do with PDP problems. They said
the NGF problem was unconnected with the
stress in PDP.”
On the reported shouting match between
Amaechi and Akpabio, a governor who pleaded
not to be named, said Amaechi attributed the
crisis to the attitude of some PDP governors,
“who will always go behind their colleagues to
tell the President a different thing to curry
favour”.
Amaechi was quoted as saying: “Each time we
all took a collective decision, some of our
colleagues will go and tell the President a
different story to show that they were not part
of it.”
But the Chairman of the PDP Governors
Forum, Akpabio, disagreed with Amaechi
saying “that is not correct; it is not true.”
Akpabio said the ongoing reconciliation within
the PDP is giving chieftains of the opposition
party sleepless night.
Responding to a question, the source, a
governor, said: “After exhausting ourselves and
trading blames, Obasanjo merely adjourned the
meeting to Tuesday night.
“The former President did not blame anyone
and refused to pass verdict on comments or
submissions of the governors.”
It could not be immediately ascertained if
President Goodluck Jonathan would be part of
the second round meeting, which was in
progress last night.
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