Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, met behind closed doors in Abuja on Thursday to deliberate on the polarisation of the Peoples Democratic Party governors. It was gathered that at the meeting, Akpabio also solicited Obasanjo’s support for President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term bid in 2015. Akpabio, who chairs the PDP Governors’ Forum, was said to have used the opportunityof the meeting which was attended by a PDP chieftain, Otunba Oyewole Fasawe, to solicit for the intervention ofthe former President in ending the differences among the governors. He was said to have told Obasanjo that the ongoing acrimony among the governors was not good for the image of the PDP and its determination to win the 2015 presidential election. Since the conduct of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum election, which was won by Rivers State Governor, RotimiAmaechi, the PDP governors have continued to exchange hot words on the pages of newspapers. While those who supported Amaechi’s opponent , Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State, have continued to accuse those in the other camp of betrayal, supporters of the winner said it was victory for democracy. The outcome of the election had resorted in the NGF having two secretariats. Also, some of the governors, like Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, have warned that winning the PDP presidentialprimary by Jonathan would not be a guarantee that he would triumph during the presidential election. Lamido, who is known to be very close to Obasanjo, is oneof the four governors from the northern region that visited Amaechi in Port Harcourt on Tuesday. The others were Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano); Babangida Aliyu (Niger); and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa). At the meeting, Obasanjo was said to have listened with rapt attention when Akpabio solicited his intervention to smoothen the relationship between thePresident and the governors. Though the former Presidentwas said not to have made any commitment, it was gathered that Akpabio was working towards bringing Obasanjo and Jonathan to come together and discuss. Akpabio, who is also close to the former President, was said to have expressed his worry on how the former President had distanced himself from the activities of the PDP. A source privy to the meetingwhich held at Hilton Hotel said, “It was a brief meeting, where the former President listened with rapt attention as Akpabio spoke. But unexpectedly, he did not make any commitment. But I think that President Jonathan would want to meet with the former President.” Obasanjo was said to have immediately left for Zimbabwe after the meeting while Fasawe went to the headquarters of the PDP for a discussion with the party’s National Chairman, Dr. Bamanga Tukur.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 10:57:46 +0000
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