. Pro-President govs insist on consensus arrangement
. Vote according to your conscience, Kaita, Tanko, Junaidu tell govs
President Goodluck Jonathan will today test his might against Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as the 36 state governors, in a conclave tonight, elect the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors' Forum, NGF. And faced with an impending defeat, the pro- Jonathan governors are insisting on consensus arrangement to produce the forum's next chairman.
Victory for Amaechi today is considered as humiliation of the President. A source told National Mirror that the President's camp has not got the required number to produce the NGF chair as at last Thursday. The source added that no fewer than between 22 and 23 governors are still rooting for Amaechi against the President's 13 to 14 governors. "Amaechi is still way up there, but the game is not lost yet.
We are not giving up," an inside source told our correspondent. A lot of intrigues will still play out today as two strategic meetings were to hold in Abuja to decide the outcome of today's election. The Northern States Governors' Forum, NSGF, has scheduled a meeting for 11a.m. while the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governors will hold theirs at the same time.
"The timing of the PDP Governors' Forum meeting is targeted at scuttling the NSGF meeting," a source said. But a source in the President's camp said they will hold their meeting after the NSGF meeting. Most of the northern governors are said to be rooting for Amaechi.
The insistence of the pro-Jonathan governors of consensus arrangement has made the election to be a tensed one as both parties stuck to their guns the president's camp want a consensus arrangement while the pro- Amaechi governors insist that the chairmanship must be produced through election.
The NGF constitution prescribes election process in the emergence of the Forum executives. "The President's camp is using underhand tactics to frustrate the emergence of the NGF chairman through democratic means. I don't know why the President and his team are worried about election since the constitution stipulates election as a means of producing the executives. "We won't accept this undemocratic means. Some of us, PDP governors, are displeased with this idea.
We will not adopt any resolution except an election. That is what the constitution of the party says and that is just what we will do," a PDP governor told National Mirror last night. The Rivers State governor and incumbent NGF chairman is seeking reelection, but President Jonathan and the PDP leadership is stridently opposed to his re-election.
Three governors are likely to slug it out today for the exalted seat. As at last night, only two governors – Amaechi and Ibrahim Shema (Katsina) have submitted their letters of intent. As at last night, the new entrant into the race, Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State has not submitted his letter of intent though he has indicated interest in the post.
He still has up till this morning to do so. National Mirror learnt that virtually all the governors have moved to Abuja for the all-important election.
There were also pockets of meetings of governors yesterday in Abuja. President Jonathan and his camp also intensified efforts to ensure that either Yuguda or Shema emerges today. The President is still mounting pressure on the governors to ensure that they do his bidding. It was also learnt that the Presidency would also go for a strong candidate from the North to fill the office of the vice-chairman to checkmate Amaechi should he win the coveted seat.
The Presidency and Amaechi have, as at last night, upped their efforts to outwit each other in the battle to produce the next chairman, deploying all means and tactics, including federal might, blackmail and others at their disposal for the all-important election.
Last night, the usual meeting of PDP governors could not hold at the Presidential Villa as the President, who was in Awka for the burial of Prof. Chinua Achebe, was said to be resting. But our correspondent learnt that he had assigned one of his reliable aides and advisers to monitor the development.
Governor Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa) and Gabriel Suswam (Benue) since last week intensified their efforts to ensure that the Jonathan's choice emerges as the NGF chair today.
President Jonathan, top Presidency officials, the leadership of PDP and the Chairman of the party's Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, are also part of the team pushing for the President's choice.
A source also said that part of the Presidency carrot to the governors was an assurance for a return ticket for the first time governors should the Presidency's candidate emerges. An assurance of a safety net after 2015 is also being dangled before the second term governors. A senior party official gave reason why the Presidency is so bothered about today's election.
"The election of Amaechi as NGF chair indicates a humiliation of the President. So, the federal might, the PDP machinery and all others are being deployed into this battle," a source in the Presidency told National Mirror. Also, Yuguda arrived Abuja yesterday and was said to be making frantic efforts to ensure that most of his colleagues made it to the meeting.
"The governor was making last-minute calls to most of his colleagues who were already in Abuja and it appears that all is ready for his emergence on Friday," an aide of Yuguda said. It was learnt that the President's camp is now appealing to the northern governors to produce one of theirs as the NGF chair.
"The President is keen on having one of the northern governors as the NGF chair not because of his interest or for balance of powers, but that he can no longer work with Amaechi," an aide of a northern governor said. The President is not leaving anything to chance.
"President Jonathan has personally spoken to us on the need to elect his candidate as the NGF chair on Friday," a governor told National Mirror. The governor added: "The leadership of the party is also exerting pressure on us to do the President's bidding. Ordinarily, Amaechi is our choice, but we are to either do the President's wish or go the way of Amaechi."
Governor Amaechi is counting on the support of the opposition governors – Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Okorocha (Imo), Kashim Shettima (Borno), Ibrahim Geidan (Yobe), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara) and Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa).
The incumbent NGF chair also banks on the support of some PDP governors, including Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Aliyu Babangida (Niger). On the side of the President, aside Akpabio, Suswam, Yuguda, Shema and Dickson, are Governors Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo), Peter Obi (Anambra), Theodore Orji (Abia), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Muktar Yero (Kaduna), Idris Wada (Kogi) and Garba Umar (Taraba Acting Governor).
Those still undecided are Governors Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto), Jonah Jang (Plateau), Martin Elechi (Ebonyi), Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo (Gombe) and Usman Saidu Dakingari (Kebbi). Meanwhile, former Kaduna State governor and PDP chieftain, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, noted yesterday that the interest of President Jonathan in the exercise constitutes a threat to peace. He called for the postponement of the NGF election to a later date by which time the anxiety the issue had generated would have died down. Kaita told our correspondent on the phone that the timing of the event was wrong following the tension in the country.
"There is tension in the country, tension around the governors, look at the issue of the insurgency, in my opinion the election should be suspended for now," Kaita said. He also recalled the concern the President's interest in the election is generating and declared that ''everyone knows President Jonathan does not want the emergence of Governor Amaechi, but another candidate."
Second Republic Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, urged the governors to vote wisely, adding that they should not succumb to any form of intimidation that would be a disservice to the people of Nigeria.
"You should realise that the eyes of the world is on them and, therefore, they should not do anything that would tarnish their own image or that of the country as a whole." Dr. Junaidu Mohammed said: "Any attempt to circumvent the process will be unacceptable. Any attempt to reduce the position of the governors to the errand boys of the President through bullying, intimidation and blackmail, must be resisted by the governors themselves and must be condemned by Nigerians.
"Democracy presupposes credible and free choice; it presupposes the integrity of the choice and the people who are making the choice. "Once that fundamental right of a people to freely choose is tampered with or is in any way curtailed, then something is fundamentally wrong about that democracy."
National Mirror