Indications emerged yesterday that the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, were planning to deal with some governors of the ruling party who voted against President Goodluck Jonathan’s preferred candidate in the election of the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF.
The election produced Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as the leader of the forum.
Also, both Amaechi and Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang yesterday insisted they won the NGF election.
Speaking yesterday at an interdenominational
church service in Port Harcourt to mark this year’s Children’s Day celebration, which also coincided with his 48th birthday, Amaechi said: “Let me say to you, I am the Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum. That we are not talking it’s because we have decided not to talk. They voted, we voted and we won. If they had won, I would have congratulated them.”
His rival, Jang, also yesterday promised not to let Nigerians down as NGF chairman, even as he cautioned that the election should not divide the governors.
Jang said he would extend the hand of fellowship to Amaechi.
In the impending cabinet shake-up, President Jonathan is likely to drop ministers nominated by the governors while they will not be given the privilege of nominating a replacement into the new cabinet.
The governors, as usual, were given ministerial slots from their state.
Already a fresh plot is being hatched to impeach Amaechi as Rivers State governor.
It was learnt that some forces close to the President are also pushing for the expulsion of the governors that supported Amaechi’s re-election from the PDP.
Some of the governors targeted for the attack are Aliyu Babangida (Niger), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Aliyu Wamako (Sokoto), Saidu Dakingari (Kebbi), and Abdullfatah Ahmed (Kwara).
These PDP and other opposition governors were said to have voted for Amaechi.
A source, however, told National Mirror that President Jonathan might meet the governors this week to resolve the differences over the NGF election.
Amaechi defeated Jang, the anointed candidate of the pro-Jonathan governors, in the keenly contested election on Friday.
Amaechi polled 19 votes against Jang’s 16 to be reelected. The outcome of the election is already heating up the polity with the two governors claiming victory.
The two camps – Amaechi and Jang – are planning to meet separately with the President to present the contentious NGF leadership to him.
A source familiar with the plot to impeach Amaechi told National Mirror that the anti-corruption agencies were discreetly looking into the financial transactions of Rivers State under his administration.
Also, some groups in the state plan to write petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, on the alleged large scale corruption in the state.
“This will lead to chains of investigation and arrest of commissioners and senior aides of the governor.
“The House of Assembly is already being probed directly by the anti-graft agencies using the constituency projects as the basis.
“Also, the spending of financial releases to the Assembly is being looked into critically,” the source said.
The probe of the lawmakers, according to sources, is to pressurise them to impeach the governor.
A similar incident took place in Plateau State when Joshua Dariye was impeached.
“The approach to be adopted will be similar to the one that took place in Ekiti State when Ayo Fayose was sent out of the Government House.
“Then, the members of the House of Assembly were harassed into submission to impeach Fayose at gunpoint. This may soon play out in Rivers,” a source said.
Aware of the plot, Rivers State Commissioner for information, Ibim Semitari, recently said the people of the state would resist the plot.
A source told National Mirror yesterday that the plot to expel some of the PDP governors was part of the pro-Jonathan governors’ demand from the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, whom they met at his residence in Abuja on Saturday.
In the alternative, the governors, led by Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Gabriel Suswan (Benue) and Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), are canvassing for the removal of the state party structures from the PDP opposition governors.
Similar treatment had been meted to Governors Amaechi and Murtala Nyako in Rivers and Adamawa states respectively.
According to a source in the PDP, the pro-Jonathan governors are hinging their demands on the “anti-party activities” of the governors who went against the decision of President Jonathan and the PDP to swing victory to the side of Amaechi.
“The pro-Jonathan governors are still fighting back. Apart from splitting the Governors’ Forum with the inauguration of a parallel NGF executive with Governor Jonah Jang as NGF chair, they are also launching a two-prong attack on the pro-Amaechi governors.
“The first step is to strip the governors of the control of the party structures at the state level by instigating the formation of parallel state executives and their subsequent recognition with several court cases against the legitimate party structure.
“The second aspect of the plot is to expel the governors on the strength of anti-party activities. Don’t forget that anything can be termed as anti-party activities,” a source said.
It is not clear if Tukur is yielding to these requests, but pressure is being mounted on him.
Meanwhile, the nine governors of the PDP, who refused to tow the party decision on the election of the NGF executives, have vowed to resist any intimidation from the party leadership.
The governors have said that any intimidation from the party leadership will only expose them to reaching out to the leaders of the All Progressive Congress, APC, a yet to be registered political party being put together by the opposition elements.
In a chat with National Mirror, one of the pro- Amaechi governors said that they were not worried about the turn of events, but warned that any attempt by the PDP leadership to punish the governors for voting according to their conscience would be disastrous.
“Most of us voted according to our conscience and in this case we are right and we have been proven to be right as my brother and colleague, Amaechi, won convincingly.
“We are chief executives of our various states and no one can dictate to us how we can run our states. What transpired last Friday is a reflection of the beauty of democracy,” the governor, who is from the North-East, said.
Asked if the party should wield the big stick just like what is happening in Rivers and Adamawa states for rubbishing its credibility, the governor said: “Which stick are they going to wield? Let me tell you, the party would be treading on a dangerous path should they attempt any form of intimidation. “That would be unfortunate. Intimidation cannot work; it has not worked in Adamawa and Rivers states. Tell me, how then it will work in some other states.
“The party cannot afford to any factionalisation. It is even more dangerous at this critical period of merger and de-merger.
“If the party does not want some of us, we can understand and we will take necessary action.”
It was learnt that the pro-Jonathan governors had been advised by some power brokers to exercise restraint in their conduct after they lost the NGF election to Amaechi.
Governor Ahmed has called for reconciliation among the governors.
Speaking with newsmen in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, at the weekend, Ahmed called on his colleagues to shun divisive political tendencies and bury the hatchet.
He added that the governors should focus on using the NGF as a platform for driving development for the benefit of the people.
“If there are issues as regards the election of the forum’s chairman, we should use the same platform to resolve them rather than fanning the embers of discord in the media.
“Our choking security challenges should not be compounded with political conundrum,” the governor said.
He, therefore, called on the leadership of South- South Governors’ Forum, the Northern State Governors’ Forum, the South- East Governors’ Forum and their colleagues from the South-West to utilise their various platforms to strengthen the forum and complement the leadership at the federal level.
Speaking with journalists in Jos yesterday, Jang said he was prepared to work with Amaechi.
The governor said he never bargained for the NGF chairman, “but that is the way God works. So, this is God’s will.”
His words: “As far as I am concerned, I have been given an assignment and by the grace of God, I will do my best to unite the forum and make sure it provides the right leadership for the people of Nigeria because we are governors that are governing our respective states.
“And so, we are bound together to work with one another. The NGF election or selection or whatever you call it should not divide the governors; we have one purpose and were elected by the people to work for them.
“We have worked with Governor Amaechi, the former Chairman of NGF, before and so he should calm down and work with me so that together we will continue to give Nigerians the right leadership for electing us as their governors.”
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