Obasanjo's Peace Move Crumbles, Jonathan Can't Dictate To Us – Governors Insist
Things are not the same anymore and the center can no longer hold, KD BLOG gathered, as Nigeria's former President, Olusegun Obasanjo's peace moves with the fighting governors is crumbling.
President Goodluck Jonathan's men have suggested that Governors Rotimi Amaechi and Jonah Jang should both step down as factional chairmen of the Nigerian Governors Forum and give way for Isa Yuguda, a man that is known to be loyal to President Jonathan. But the aggrieved governors have insisted that it is either Amaechi or no one. Consequently, Obasanjo's trouble-shooting mission has ended in a deadlock as the governors failed to reach any kind of compromise with President Jonathan's men.
Unable to bring peace to the fold of the bickering governors, the second move by the former president to make peace between the governors and President Goodluck Jonathan and his family, it was learnt, has thus been postponed indefinitely.
Meanwhile, Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State has offered reasons why majority of governors in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, backed Governor Chibuike Amaechi against Jonah Jang in the NGF chairmanship election. He said the governors do not trust Jang to robustly defend their interests.
Amaechi can’t step down — Supporters
Central to the abortion of the peace process was the refusal of both Governors Chibuike Amaechi and Jonah Jang to step down from chairmanship of rival factions of the NGF.
Under a proposal that had been canvassed, Amaechi would have called a meeting of the NGF in which all the governors would have attended and at which he would have tendered a public resignation supposedly for peace to return to the forum.
But Amaechi and his supporters resisted the move as they claimed that since he won the election, he should not be the one to step down. Jang who lost the NGF chairmanship election by 16 votes to the 19 votes was equally not ready to step down.
Pro-Amaechi governors are insisting that the result of the election should be respected and that the loser of the election should step down.
One governor who spoke to Vanguard on the condition of anonymity, however, insisted that those of them driving the peace process would not give up until peace returns to the fold of the governors.
Why we don’t trust Jang --Governor Nyako
Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Jonathan on Wednesday evening in Abuja, Governor Nyako said somebody who contested and won election should not step down for a man who came second in the election.
According to the governor, though the issue of Amaechi and Jang stepping down came up in the meeting between the governors of the People’s Democratic Party and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, no agreement was reached.
“In democracy, when you have an issue you discuss. The election in the Governors’ Forum has become an issue. It should not be an issue. When you say 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, even someone who is in elementary school knows which is higher.
President Goodluck Jonathan's men have suggested that Governors Rotimi Amaechi and Jonah Jang should both step down as factional chairmen of the Nigerian Governors Forum and give way for Isa Yuguda, a man that is known to be loyal to President Jonathan. But the aggrieved governors have insisted that it is either Amaechi or no one. Consequently, Obasanjo's trouble-shooting mission has ended in a deadlock as the governors failed to reach any kind of compromise with President Jonathan's men.
Unable to bring peace to the fold of the bickering governors, the second move by the former president to make peace between the governors and President Goodluck Jonathan and his family, it was learnt, has thus been postponed indefinitely.
Meanwhile, Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State has offered reasons why majority of governors in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, backed Governor Chibuike Amaechi against Jonah Jang in the NGF chairmanship election. He said the governors do not trust Jang to robustly defend their interests.
Amaechi can’t step down — Supporters
Central to the abortion of the peace process was the refusal of both Governors Chibuike Amaechi and Jonah Jang to step down from chairmanship of rival factions of the NGF.
Under a proposal that had been canvassed, Amaechi would have called a meeting of the NGF in which all the governors would have attended and at which he would have tendered a public resignation supposedly for peace to return to the forum.
But Amaechi and his supporters resisted the move as they claimed that since he won the election, he should not be the one to step down. Jang who lost the NGF chairmanship election by 16 votes to the 19 votes was equally not ready to step down.
Pro-Amaechi governors are insisting that the result of the election should be respected and that the loser of the election should step down.
One governor who spoke to Vanguard on the condition of anonymity, however, insisted that those of them driving the peace process would not give up until peace returns to the fold of the governors.
Why we don’t trust Jang --Governor Nyako
Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Jonathan on Wednesday evening in Abuja, Governor Nyako said somebody who contested and won election should not step down for a man who came second in the election.
According to the governor, though the issue of Amaechi and Jang stepping down came up in the meeting between the governors of the People’s Democratic Party and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, no agreement was reached.
“In democracy, when you have an issue you discuss. The election in the Governors’ Forum has become an issue. It should not be an issue. When you say 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, even someone who is in elementary school knows which is higher.
If one group got 19 votes (and) the other got 16, in democracy even in the eyes of the people in elementary school, they know that 19 is higher than 16. It should not be turned into controversy.
On whether Jang and Amaechi should step down to allow for a neutral person to be elected, Nyako retorted that it would be inconceivable to urge Amaechi to step down, given that he won the election. He said that the pressure should rather be on Jang as the runner-up to step down.
On whether Jang and Amaechi should step down to allow for a neutral person to be elected, Nyako retorted that it would be inconceivable to urge Amaechi to step down, given that he won the election. He said that the pressure should rather be on Jang as the runner-up to step down.
