Rebel Governors Strike New Deal With President Jonathan?
'If you truly love Nigeria, you will abandon your second term ambition,
that will lead to you spending 10years in office, which the constitution
does not support.' that is the message of new PDP to President Goodluck
Jonathan as he meets with Governors Rotimi Amaechi, Babangida Aliyu and
Rabiu Kwankwaso.
President Jonathan, had called some of the governors and pleaded with them to, in the interest of public perception, attend the meeting as earlier agreed.
Consequently, a last ditch effort by the President for the resumption of peace talks with aggrieved governors of the new PDP has yielded results, with the Abubakar Baraje-led faction rescinding its decision to boycott the meeting scheduled for the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
It is also believed that President Jonathan is getting ready to dump Bamanga Tukur as old PDP chairman if the governors will allow him contest in 2015, but it seems that is a no-go-area for the G-7 governors.
A source said he was positive that certain concessions must have been made, going by what he described as the “conviviality of the discussions with the Commander-in-Chief and the governors on the telephone”.
He said: “The meeting will hold as scheduled and there is a reason for that. Yes, we had earlier resolved to boycott the meeting due to the way some of the President’s close associates have been carrying on. But, after the President’s intervention and discussions, we feel his office should be respected.
One of the aggrieved governors told The Nation that: “Yes, I believe some concessions have been reached, but I cannot reveal them now. I know that the case of Bamanga Tukur leading the party is not negotiable and we made that clear to the President. He cannot continue because he has shown that he does not have what it takes to lead a party like the PDP.
"He still behaves like an headmaster, issuing out orders to governors as if they are his boys. That is simply not acceptable.
“We learnt that those who think this is about the personal interest of the governors have been trying to convince us to take some offers. But I can tell you this is not the case, at this level it would be a political suicide for any one to accept or contemplate taking such Greek gift. We are determined to see this through and return the party to its old glory."
President Jonathan, had called some of the governors and pleaded with them to, in the interest of public perception, attend the meeting as earlier agreed.
Consequently, a last ditch effort by the President for the resumption of peace talks with aggrieved governors of the new PDP has yielded results, with the Abubakar Baraje-led faction rescinding its decision to boycott the meeting scheduled for the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
It is also believed that President Jonathan is getting ready to dump Bamanga Tukur as old PDP chairman if the governors will allow him contest in 2015, but it seems that is a no-go-area for the G-7 governors.
A source said he was positive that certain concessions must have been made, going by what he described as the “conviviality of the discussions with the Commander-in-Chief and the governors on the telephone”.
He said: “The meeting will hold as scheduled and there is a reason for that. Yes, we had earlier resolved to boycott the meeting due to the way some of the President’s close associates have been carrying on. But, after the President’s intervention and discussions, we feel his office should be respected.
One of the aggrieved governors told The Nation that: “Yes, I believe some concessions have been reached, but I cannot reveal them now. I know that the case of Bamanga Tukur leading the party is not negotiable and we made that clear to the President. He cannot continue because he has shown that he does not have what it takes to lead a party like the PDP.
"He still behaves like an headmaster, issuing out orders to governors as if they are his boys. That is simply not acceptable.
“We learnt that those who think this is about the personal interest of the governors have been trying to convince us to take some offers. But I can tell you this is not the case, at this level it would be a political suicide for any one to accept or contemplate taking such Greek gift. We are determined to see this through and return the party to its old glory."
