President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday evening held what is viewed as a peace meeting with some governors of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).
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.
Meanwhile, details have emerged about what transpired during a meeting held between President Jonathan and Governor Amaechi about three weeks ago.
The meeting which was the first held between the political foes since the start of their feud in March was held at the Aso Rock Villa at the instance of the five governors who had earlier met with the president to broker peace.
Sources at the meeting informed this correspondent that the Rivers State governor used the opportunity to explain to President Jonathan the grey areas in the conflict, after assuring him that he had nothing personal against him and was not planning to dump the PDP.
Amaechi was said to have told President Jonathan that oil wells belonging to Rivers State were arbitrarily handed over to Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Abia states by the National Boundaries Commission (NBC) at the behest of The Presidency.
According to the source, Amaechi told Jonathan that when he complained and demanded the return of the oil wells, only a few non-producing oil wells were given back by Akwa Ibom.
Amaechi was also said to have told the president that he should not be held responsible for the stand the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) took on the issues of the mismanagement of the Excess Crude Account (ECA) by the federal government, the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) and the subsidy funds. The governor was said to have told Jonathan that all the state governors, irrespective of political party platforms, agreed on the positions reached and that he was only the NGF chairman.
On the festering crisis in Rivers State, the governor told the president that all his security apparati had been withdrawn on the orders of his wife Patience, in a bid to make the state ungovernable.
Furthermore, he told Jonathan that he no longer held security meetings in the state as the commissioner of police and director of State Security Service (SSS), among others, now took instructions from The Presidency.
He was also said to have told the president that attempts to re-deploy the state commissioner of police, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu, was stopped by his wife Patience, who ordered the commissioner of police in Imo State who had been re-deployed to Rivers State to remain in Owerri.
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