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 said 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.”
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, journalists 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, it was 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.