Presidency Fails In Its Bid To Snatch Amaechi's Deputy, Others
Still hurt by the defection of five governors to the All Progressives
Congress (APC), the Presidency has been making overtures to their
deputies to dump their governors and come back to the Peoples Democratic
Party.
The Presidency is dangling gubernatorial tickets as a bait to retain the deputy governors.
The Presideny’s emissaries to the deputy governors included PDP chieftains, former governors, ministers and old political strategists. The deputy governors were reportedly asked to come back to the PDP. They got a promise of “an appreciable political accommodation”.But most of the deputy governors are suspicious of the “Greek Gift”.
The deputy governors are: Tele Ikuru (Rivers); Bala
Ngilari (Adamawa); Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (Kano); Mukhtar Shagari
(Sokoto) and Peter Kishira (Kwara).
Of the five deputy governors, only Shagari has parted ways with his principal, Governor Aliyu Wammako, on party affiliation.
It was gathered that some of the deputy governors were promised either “automatic governorship” ticket or ministerial slot, if should they dump their principals.
According to The Nation source, “One of the deputy governors told a
group that ‘a bird in the hand is two in the bush.’ He said he cannot be
used as a pawn against his governor.”
