G-7 Governors Meet Obasanjo, Danjuma

The lingering crisis in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took a new turn yesterday, as there were strong indications that the suspended truce talks between the warring factions may not resume.

Governors of the party supporting the Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje-led breakaway faction, otherwise called the G-7 governors, renewed their nationwide consultations with a number of Nigerian leaders.

Also yesterday, governors Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Musa Rabiu Kwakwanso (Kano), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers) conferred with former president Olusegun Obasanjo, former head of interim government Ernest Shonekan and former defence minister General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (rtd).

Governors Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Aliyu Magatarda Wammako(Sokoto) were said to be unavoidably absent in the three separate meetings which took place in Abeokuta and Lagos.

“The governors have reached a point of no return, what could called crossing the Rubicon,” a source close to one of the G-7 governors confided in LEADERSHIP last night. “The entire nation has seen that the president and Tukur are not ready for peace but violence; you have to recall that, just before the Christian pilgrimage, that’s between the Hajj, the idea was muted since most of the governors supporting the new PDP were away on Hajj.

“We knew that the president went on pilgrimage too, but between the time he went to Israel and now he has not deemed it fit to initiate the meeting, let alone stop the intimidation of our members.

“I can tell you that the governors and the leadership of the new PDP have made up their minds to call the president’s bluff because he has shown that he has no need for peace and prefers violence; and since we do not think it wise to go that way, the best thing is to avoid all cosmetic peace meetings and prepare for the worst he thinks he can do to stop us.”

LEADERSHIP learnt the decision to meet the trio of Obasanjo, Shonekan and Danjuma had been taken two weeks ago when the secretariat of the new PDP in Maitama was marked for demolition by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA). 

Details of the Abeokuta meeting between Obasanjo and the G-7 governors were sketchy. But at his Ikoyi residence of a meeting with the governors, Shonekan sued for cooperation amongst the political elites in the country as a way of pulling the nation out of the current doldrums it has found itself. That was the governors’ first point of call. They arrived about 3:40pm in the same BMW Sports Utility Vehicle driven by Amaechi with the other governors seated inside.

They were escorted by a band of security aides to disguise their identities into the expansive Ikoyi residence of the former leader who stated that he had to wait to receive his guests.

Though the meeting was supposed to be a private one, LEADERSHIP and few media organisations were present.  Amaechi and Shonekan later addressed them on the outcome of the meeting that lasted about an hour and 10 minutes.

On why the group opted to meet with Shonekan, the Rivers State governor said: “We are consulting with the elders across the country on the issues that affect the party and the nation in general. We are talking about the ills in the country.”

The governor however stated that the planned meeting with the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which was initially scheduled for Monday, would now hold today.

On the discussion with President Jonathan on the state of the PDP, Amaechi said, “We are waiting for him to call for the next meeting.”

Commenting on the visit, Shonekan thanked his guests but called for cooperation amongst the nation’s political gladiators  to move the country forward, saying the country belonged to all.

“God has given us all the things needed for growth and progress. We must try as much as possible to cooperate with each other, to make sure that the country becomes the envy of all,” Shonekan said.

He stated that he might offer himself in the efforts to reconcile the warring members of the PDP, adding: “I will consult with people that are relevant.”

A similar scenario played itself out at the Victoria Island residence of General Danjuma where they met with him for about one and a half hours to discuss the same issue.

They were quickly ushered into the private sitting-room of the former army boss where they met for some time only to emerge at exactly 6pm and proceeded straight to their vehicle.

Speaking on the need for the consultations, national publicity secretary of the new PDP Eze Chukwuemeka Eze said the governors were simply going round to “report back their experience in the hands of President Jonathan and Bamanga Tukur”.

“Recall that before ever they formed the new PDP, the governors had been consulting with elders who told them to be patient; now they have to go back to them to report their experience so far in the hands of President Jonathan and Bamanga Tukur: that rather than giving hope for a quick resolution of the crisis, the problems are compounding.

“It is a way of saying that we stay here and die so we have to move on; I think it is the latter, we have got to move on,” Eze said.

Obasanjo, G-7 govs in secret meeting in Abeokuta

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo and some of the aggrieved governors of the PDP yesterday met behind closed doors in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

The meeting, which lasted about two hours, was held at the hilltop mansion of the ex-president.

In attendance were governors Muazu Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso (Kano) and Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers).

Two other governors, Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto) and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), who were among the G-7 governors that formed the breakaway faction, were absent.

Journalists were, however, barred from  entering into the venue by security operatives.

The secret meeting came barely 24 hours after policemen disrupted a meeting of the G-7 governors held at the Kano Governor’s Lodge in the Asokoro District of Abuja.

Although details of their discussion were not made public, LEADERSHIP learnt that it was not unconnected with the unfolding developments in the party.

Briefing reporters at the end of the meeting, Aliyu, who is also the chairman, Northern Governors’ Forum, said the meeting with Obasanjo was in furtherance of their consultation with PDP elders over the crisis rocking the ruling party.

He said the aggrieved governors remained in the PDP and expected to resume talks with President Jonathan and the Bamanga Tukur-led faction of the party.

The governor stated that the continuation of negotiations was imperative after the recent conclusion of the holy pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem.

He said: “You may recall that when issues started, we consulted our elders; so this is part of the consultation, more so that we are coming to the resolution of the matters.

“We believe that very soon - we’ve been discussing with the president, discussing about these matters and we believe after the lull of the pilgrimages, we are all back, so we needed to consult again to find out if there is any variable that has intervened and we are very happy things are going normal.”

Asked whether they were in Abeokuta to bid Obasanjo farewell preparatory to their rumoured defection to the APC, Aliyu said: “I don’t know about that. It’s just speculation.”

The governors, who rode together in an unmarked black BMW sports utility vehicle, left Obasanjo’s residence about 1:50 pm. The vehicle was driven off by Amaechi amidst a retinue of police escorts and aides.

I will speak with Jonathan, Obasanjo tell G-7 govs

Meanwhile, Obasanjo yesterday appealed to the G-7 governors to give peace a chance and to continue with the reconciliation meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan.

The ex-president was said to have stated this while responding to the appeal of the governors asking him to call Jonathan and the PDP national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, to order over the way they have been using police to harass them at their meetings.

According to a source close to the meeting, it was Kwankwanso who set the ball rolling when he informed Obasanjo that the police interrupted their meeting in Abuja and recalled their similar encounter and how their members have been subjected to harassment from the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) which has marked their properties for demolition.

Other four governors concurred  with him while Amaechi gave his own experience in Rivers state and asked Obasanjo that his life was under threat as the agents of the First Lady have been harassing him.

The source said, “All the governors present narrated their ordeal to Baba Obasanjo, they urged him to come to their aide by calling President Jonathan to order. They cited how police have been harassing them whenever they are meeting. They claimed the FCT minister is threatening to demolish their houses in Abuja among others.

“Although they told Baba that they have made up their minds to dump the party, Baba cautioned them against leaving the party. He urged them to embrace dialogue and regard the ongoing crisis as a storm in a tea cup that would soon be over. Baba told them that PDP crisis is a family affair that must be resolved without any interference from the outside. He appealed to those who have made their minds to jump the ship to reconsider their decision in the interest of the party. He however promised to speak with President Jonathan over the issues raised by the governors.” 

Police now armed wing of PDP - APC govs

The Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) in a statement yesterday condemned the invasion of the G-7 governors’ meeting by the police, describing it as alarming.“The Progressive Governors’ Forum hereby registers its dismay that, for the second weekend in a row, officers of the Nigeria police illegally stormed and disrupted a meeting by seven governors and other Nigerians going about their constitutionally guaranteed rights of association.“The police action is not only alarming but also demonstrates clearly that the force, instead of carrying out its constitutional responsibilities of maintaining peace and order in the society, has become no more than the armed wing of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” the statement signed by the 11 governors said.

Also describing the disruption of the G-7 governors’ meeting as totalitarian was former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode: ‘’Nigeria is in the grip of fascism again. The G7 governors met at the Kano State governor’s lodge last night in Abuja. As they were holding their meeting, the DPO of Asokoro police station burst in with his men and tried to stop them from meeting, citing ‘orders from above’. This is a very serious issue and it clearly indicates that we are back in the days of totalitaniarism and fascism in Nigeria. In the next few days, weeks and months, every single person that is in opposition to the Jonathan government must expect the very worse from them. “If they can do this sort of thing to sitting governors who have immunity from arrest and court proceedings, what won’t they do to the rest of us? May God deliver Nigeria from these desperate people.”