2011: PDP governors move to checkmate Jonathan

[bayo4luv]

The standoff between governors of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Acting President Goodluck Jonathan seems far from been over as the governors have resolved to checkmate him ahead of the release of the party's guidelines for next year's elections. 

The party will this week hold its first National Executive Council (NEC) meeting this year and the first to be attended by Jonathan as leader of the party in the absence of ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua. 

Sources weekend disclosed that the 28 governors of the party having been caught unawares by the actions of the acting president especially by the return of Aliyu Gusau as national security adviser (NSA), dissolution of the cabinet and the nomination of some people without recourse to the leadership of the party, now want to ensure that the acting president is not allowed to have his way in the preparation for next year's general election. 

The National Central Working committee of the party led by its national chairman, Vincent Ogbulafor, had last month met with Jonathan and put before him the proposed timetable for the 2011 polls, but Jonathan was reported to have rejected the move and directed that the status quo be maintained. Ahead of Thursday's meeting in Abuja, the 28 governors of the party are plotting with the leadership of the party to prevent Jonathan from tampering with the zoning plan of the party. They would want the presidency to remain in the north. 

The guidelines for the 2011 elections will top the agenda of the Thursday NEC meeting and the governors, last week, held a closed door meeting for several hours at the Kwara Lodge in Asokoro with the national secretary of the party, Abubakar Kawu Baraje, in attendance. 

Sources at the nocturnal meeting disclosed that 19 governors of the party and five deputy governors were in attendance.  BusinessDay also gathered that at the highly charged meeting presided over by Kwara State governor, Bukola Saraki, who also doubles as chairman of the Governors' Forum, the recent actions of the acting president were the subject of the meeting.   

The governors, it was learnt, took a position to do everything within their powers to frustrate the acting president from tampering with the existing arrangements within the party ahead of 2011 elections. 

The governors at the meeting, according to inside sources, resolved to hold firm to the party's machineries and structures in their respective states as a way of checkmating any move by the acting president.   

The governors were reported to have discussed extensively the perceived influence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and retired General Theophilus Danjuma over the acting president. According to the governors, the actions taken so far by the acting president were made possible by the confidence he got from Obasanjo and Danjuma and they considered the two as stumbling blocks to their aspirations for 2011. It was, however, learnt that this week's NEC meeting of the PDP may be rowdy as some state chairmen of the party are demanding explanation from Ogbulafor on how he handled the affairs of the party before, during and after the National Assembly empowered Jonathan as acting president.

2011: PDP governors move to checkmate Jonathan

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