We’re waiting for Jonathan’s invitation — Rebel govs

The seven aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party are waiting for President Goodluck Jonathan to invite them to a meeting on how to resolve the crisis rocking the ruling party. The spokesperson for the New PDP, Mr. Chukwuemeka Eze, who stated this in an interview with our correspondent in Abuja on Friday, said the governors would attend the meeting anytime it was called. The governors are Rabiu Kwankwaso(Kano), Aliyu Wamakko(Sokoto), Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), Sule Lamido(Jigawa), Aliyu Babangida(Niger), Abdulfatai Ahmed(Kwara ) and Murtala Nyako(Adamawa). Before now, the President had met with the aggrieved governors twice with a view to finding solutions to their grievances, which made them form a faction of the ruling party. The last meeting was a consultation where the representatives of the governors met with the President and few leaders of the party to inform the President that some of their colleagues had travelled to Saudi Arabia for the hajj. The meeting, which was held on October 16 at the Presidential Villa, was attended by Amaechi, Aliyu and Kwankwaso. It was gathered that while the President granted the permission of the governors to shift the meeting till after the Muslim pilgrimage, he also informed them that he would also be visiting Israel to perform the Christian pilgrimage with some of the governors on his side. Eze told our correspondent that since both sides had returned from their pilgrimages, the meeting could come up anytime from now. He said, “We are expecting the President to call the meeting anytime from now. Our governors are ready and I can tell you that they would be at the meeting because they respect him and his office. “There is no way we would not attend the meeting because we want peace to return to our party and we want to discuss how to do this with the President. “The last meeting could not hold because a majority of our governors had travelled to Mecca and the President also told them that he too would be going to Israel. Now, both sides are back, they can meet anytime soon.” Asked if the governors would still insist on their demands, Eze said nothing had changed since the last meeting to warrant shifting of ground, but added that the bottomline would be to make their party better. Eze listed the demands by the governors to include the removal of the National Chairman of the PDP, Bamanga Tukur, presidential recognition of Amaechi as the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, stoppage of alleged harassment of members of their group by security agents and restoration of peace to Rivers State chapter of the party. “These are just our demands, which we consider to be sensible, feasible and could be met in order to restore peace to the party,” Eze added. Meanwhile, Kwankwaso has been slated to be among the three key discussants at the Progressive Governors’ Forum, which holds in Abuja on Wednesday. The PGF is made up of the 11 governors elected on the platform of the APC. It is not clear if Kwankwaso has agreed to defect to the opposition party, but its leaders met with him in Kano on Thursday where he was invited to pitch his tent with the opposition party. Apart from the Kano State governor, others slated as discussants include the Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and the Governor of Imo State, Mr. Rochas Okorocha. A document obtained by our correspondent showed that a former National Chairman of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, will chair the occasion. The Interim National Chairman of the APC, Bisi Akande, is listed as the champion of Greater Nigeria while a former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) will give the keynote address.