The ongoing reconciliation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors notwithstanding, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) will never allow Plateau state Governor Jonah Jang to lead the Forum, Governor Muritala Nyako of Adamawa has said.
There has been concerted effort of late to reconcile the PDP Governors who have been sharply divided following the controversy that trailed the last NGF election that returned Governor Rotimi Amaechi as the chairman of the Forum, having garnered 19 votes as against Governor Jang’s 16 votes.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, presided over a late night meeting that ended 4.00am on Wednesday with all the PDP governors, including NGF chairman, Governor Amaechi and the factional chairman, Governor Jang, in attendance at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Following Obasanjo’s intervention, there has been speculation that both Governors Amaechi and Jang might be compelled to give way for a neutral person to carry on as NGF chairman so that the party could put its House in order ahead of the 2015 election.
Governor Muritala Nyako told State House correspondents on Wednesday that the NGF crisis was discussed, but insisted that Governor Amaechi will never step down for Jang, saying he, Jang cannot be trusted.
“I would like to have a leader of the Forum who when he is with the President in the small room talking about Adamawa state, can put in a good word for Adamawa state. It should not be someone who will aggravate issues in the eyes of Mr. President. That element of trust must be there. If I vote for somebody it must be somebody I could trust,” Adamawa Governor said.
Nyako spoke further, “In democracy when you have an issue you discuss. The election in the governors’ forum has become an issue. It shouldn’t be an issue. When you say sixteen seventeen eighteen nineteen twenty even someone who is in elementary school knows which is higher.
“If one group got nineteen votes the other one got sixteen, in democracy even in the eyes of the people in elementary school they know that nineteen is higher than sixteen. It should not be turned into a controversy.
“What could be related to that is that it could not be the figure. We could all agree that whoever got the highest figure won the election but maybe beyond the figure we have already in the governors forum established certain criteria for leadership within us. He must be somebody we trust.
“We also said it should be somebody who have some degree of chemistry with the President that the President will be comfortable with. Now if we find that the President is not comfortable with him, can do a little bit of psychological work to get the two of them having the same chemistry?
“The other one we feel is that he should add some value to Mr. President. If you have a forum leader who is seen to be part of the President that has become a ‘Yes Man’ of Mr. President then the governors will say he is not representing our interests. If he is not representing the interest of the governors, he is not representing the interests of the ordinary Nigerians.
“These are areas we have sorted out. Obviously if the chemistry is not still right we should discuss it and find a way of adjusting the tempo, the countenance, the language of the subordinate,” Nyako said.
