President Goodluck Jonathan Sunday night continued his reconciliatory meeting with the aggrieved Governors of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
However, the rebel governors, tagged ‘G7’ are now only two, ‘G2’ following the defection of five of them to the All Progressives Congress (APC) last week.
The last two Governors standing are Babangida Aliyu of Niger and Sule Lamido of Jigawa. They both denounced their colleagues as soon as the merger agreement between the new PDP and APC was sealed and made public.
The five Governors that have dumped the ruling part are: Rotimi Amaechi- Rivers, Rabiu Kwakwanso-Kano, Aliyu Wamakko-Sokoto, Muritala Nyako-Adamawa and Abdulfatah Ahmed- Kwara.
President Jonathan was billed to meet with the G7 last week Sunday but the meeting could not hold because the President was tired and needed to rest when he returned from London that day.
Present at the reconciliatory meeting which was held at the First Lady wing of the Presidential Villa, were Vice President Namadi Sambo, chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) Chief Tony Anenih, Governors Godswil Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Liyel Imoke (Cross Rivers) and Idris Wada (Kogi).
The party’s Board of Trustees chairman, Tony Anenih while speaking with State House correspondents expressed satisfaction that confidence was being restored.
According to him, “We have had our meeting presided over by the President with the Vice President in attendance. We had very useful meeting, the summary of it all is that we are happy that we are moving to restore confidence and trust”.
On his part, Governor Lamido of Jigawa, had this to say, “I stand by my principles which is one Nigeria which is based on law and order”
Speaking, Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu, reiterated his earlier position that he would not defect to any part but remain in the PDP.
He said, “I am a member of PDP and that is why I am here at this meeting and as I said before the whole idea was to bring sanity back to our party and that is what we are still discussing. We are meeting again on Sunday but there will be series of meetings before then”.
Earlier, Vice President Namadi Sambo had met with some governors of the PDP. But curiously, Governors Aliyu and Lamido were not present and details not known.
Those present were Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Martins Elechi (Ebonyi) and Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Idris Wada (Kogi), Jonah Jang (Plateau), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Theodore Orji (Abia), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Serike Dickson (Bayelsa) and Liyel Imoke (Cross River).
It was after the meeting that held at House 7 that they all moved to the First Lady Wing for a meeting with the now G2 Governors- Babangida Aliyu and Sule Lamido.
The ruling PDP has been engulfed in crisis for a while now.
However, the crisis blew open when on August 31, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, led seven Governors out of the PDP Special Convention ground at Eagles Square.
They later surfaced at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua centre where they addressed a press conference, announcing the formation of a parallel PDP known as ‘new PDP’ under the national chairmanship of Abubakar Baraje.
Baraje, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Sam Sam Jaja, former Governorsof Kwara- Bukola Saraki and Adamu Abdullahi of Nassarawa and other chieftains of the nPDP have now defected to the APC.
