Dandalin YAN Arewa The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) election crisis deepened yesterday as South South leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday disowned the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Ameachi, who defeated the anointed candidate of his party, Jonah Jang, of Plateau State. Besides, the group at a stakeholders meeting held at the Asokoro residence of its leader, Chief Edwin Clark, vowed to stop Amaechi’s 2015 political ambition. The PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) last week suspended Amaechi. The party leaders said they would support President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 general elections even if he is not interested to run. In his opening remarks, the convener, Chief Clark, said Amaechi’s undying craze to be the chairman of the governors’ ‘forum was premised on his ambition to use it as a platform to become the vice president in 2015. “Whose interest is he intending to serve, the interest of the people of the South-South region or his personal interest? As a party, I believe we need to dispassionately look at these and other issues and make our position known to Nigerians. We must rise from this meeting with definite options to stop Governor Amaechi from pursuing that madness,” Clark reiterated. Clark further stated that if Amaechi must nurture any ambition to serve the country at the national level, he should run for the presidency and not as a vice president. “If he must contest in deference to his constitutional right, let him contest for the office of president because the South-South of today is not interested in any other office but the president.” Also in his address, the PDP’s National Vice Chairman, South-South zone, Chief Steve Oru, emphasised that leaders of the party in the zone must convince Jonathan to run in 2015. “South-South leaders support President Jonathan. We will convince him even if he does not want to run in 2015. He has done well and we will encourage him,” he said. Speaking on the role of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Chief Oru said the forum was an advisory body and that the PDP always consulted the chairman of the forum. Therefore, the party decides who holds the position of the chairman. “We will do our best to also promote peace and reconciliation between the warring factions of the forum. Just like the biblical story of the lost sheep, we will go out and find the lost sheep and when we find it, we will rejoice. Let us use our wisdom in our deliberations today (yesterday) in bringing peace and reconciliation and no stone should be left unturned,” he said.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 13:39:58 +0000
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