Jonathan, Govs in Marathon Meeting

President Goodluck Jonathan

•President’s men move against Kwankwaso 
•New PDP: Tukur should leave Atiku, Amaechi, others alone 
•Again, party asks court to jail Baraje, Oyinlola, others

Chuks Okocha and Muhammad Bello 

President Goodluck Jonathan and all the 23 governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has been lurching on the precipice, held a marathon meeting last night to thrash out the crises in the party that led to its factionalisation 11 days ago.
However, earlier Tuesday associates believed to be close to the president had stormed the national secretariat of the PDP in Abuja seeking the dissolution of the Kano State executive committee of the party.

This is just as the acrimony between the national executives of the two factions of the ruling party continued unabated, with the Baraje-led group accusing the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, of annihilating the party.

Also, for the second time in one week, the party urged the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, to commit leaders of the party’s faction, the New PDP, to prison for allegedly violating an order made by the court’s judge.

The meeting between the president and governors was previously scheduled to take place a week ago, but was postponed to yesterday after the seven aggrieved governors, who broke away alongside others to form the New PDP, asked for more time.

The meeting, which started at about 9 pm, was still on going at the time of going to press at 2 am.

It was the first time that the president had met with what has now been termed the G7, comprising Governors Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) and Sule Lamido (Jigawa), as well as other governors considered to be loyal to him, to thrash out their grievances.

A presidency source informed THISDAY that the duration of the meeting was an indication that they were serious about resolving the crises that have threatened the future of PDP.

He said the president and governors were trying to arrive at a win-win situation that everyone will be comfortable with, in order to move the party forward.

Although he declined to disclose further information, he admitted that the meeting was a make or break meeting for the party and could determine its fortunes. 

Before the meeting, however, the president’s allies comprising the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ghali Na’Abba; Nigeria’s Ambassador to China, Alhaji Aminu Wali; Col. Habibu Shuaibu, who contested the 2011 election against Kwankwaso, in 2011; and a former adviser to Vice-President Namadi Sambo, Akilu Ndabawa, were said to have pushed for the dissolution of the Kano exco on the grounds that their tenure had expired.

They stormed the PDP national secretariat yesterday demanding that the state party executive led by Aminu Aliyu Summilia should be dissolved because its tenure had expired since August 14, 2013.

Commenting on their visit to the secretariat, the National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Olisa Metuh, confirmed that the National Working Committee (NWC) held a meeting with the delegates from Kano State, who came to inform the national secretariat that the tenure of the exco in the state had expired.

He confirmed that a caretaker committee would soon be set up in the state chapter of the party pending when a proper election would be organised.

He denied that the plan to set up a caretaker committee was part of the crisis in the party, in which some governors of the PDP, including that of Kano State had formed a splinter group.

But THISDAY gathered that their demand for the dissolution of the Kano State exco was in line with the recommendations of the Political Committee set up by the president last week to develop a strategy as a fall back option to the factionalisation of the party.
The Political Committee, in its report, had recommended a carrot and stick approach including the dissolution of the state executive committees of the so-called “rebel states” comprising Kano, Niger, Sokoto and Kwara.

Rivers and Adamawa were excluded on the grounds that the party exco in the two states are not under the control of their governors.

Other measures recommended by the committee included x-raying the activities of the disloyal members in the four states and possibly expelling those that are indicted.
It was learnt that the Political Committee was of the view that the governors and chieftains of the PDP in the four states have not been amenable to the reconciliatory overtures of the president.

Meanwhile, the Baraje-faction of the PDP yesterday accused Tukur of annihilating the party.

The New PDP, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Eze Chukwuemeka, also called on Tukur to desist from antagonising its leader, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, as well as Amaechi, Kwankwaso, Lamido, Nyako and Wamakko.

Describing the attacks by Tukur against the former vice-president and New PDP governors as exasperating, disgusting, unacceptable and very unfortunate, Eze said the utterances were capable of derailing the reconciliation being spearheaded by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

“We urge him and members of his cabinet to stop making inflammatory statements capable of derailing the efforts of the Elders Committee of the party under the leadership of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to restore normalcy and unity amongst PDP members,” the statement read.

The New PDP said Tukur and his cohorts should let peace reign by according respect to members of the Elders Committee comprising former military President Ibrahim Babangida, the Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, Alhaji Ahmadu Ali and Barnabas Gemade, who should be allowed to do their work, as “this is necessary so as to allow peace to be restored to our great party.”

Noting that the incessant criticism of Atiku and Amaechi by Tukur had shown that he is intolerant of dissenting voices and is thus “incapable of leading a democratic party like PDP.”

Eze urged him to “refrain from making statements that are not only false but also capable of overheating the polity and causing more trouble for President Goodluck Jonathan and allow Mr. President find ways to get himself out of the problems so far created by some misguided elements surrounding him.”

The new PDP said it was however not surprised that Tukur and many of his executives were combative, attributing their attitude to the lack of familiarity with the original ideology of the party.

“The patriotic members of PDP will not be either intimidated or harassed out of the party as we are on a mission not only to rediscover the PDP but also to imbibe in the members the vision of the founding fathers of the party and restore internal democracy in the party,” the faction stated.

Eze, who added that the new PDP boycotted the post-convention dinner of the party because it was a charade and an avenue for wasting resources, which could affect the party's chances of winning future elections, also faulted Tukur’s allegation that Amaechi was sponsoring the activities of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

“As a serious group, we cannot be a party to such squandermania while Nigerian masses are wallowing in abject poverty and our children kept at home instead of being in school because the federal government could not meet ASUU’s demands.

“We wish to have nothing to do with such waste of public funds and such trivialities associated with Tukur and his leadership – which explains why he must be kicked out of the national secretariat of the party.

“We cannot be a party to such a gathering while the PDP family is facing serious crisis that if not checked would dim the party's chances of winning future elections. This is a sign of a man chasing a rat while his house is on fire,” it said.

“If we may ask, on what basis would Governor Amaechi be sponsoring the activities of APC? Is he a member of APC? Are there not enough state governors in APC to sponsor its activities?” it asked.

On threats by some ex-Niger Delta militants that if Jonathan is not allowed to contest the presidential election in 2015 they would make the country ungovernable, the New PDP said it is not only the Ijaw people that would vote in future polls but over 300 tribes from every area of the country, as it commended the Timipre Sylva group in Bayelsa State which has aligned itself with the faction.

Reacting to the New PDP’s statement, Metuh said the PDP would not engage the faction in a war of words, saying, “We will not exchange words with our aggrieved brothers.

“Reconciliation is ongoing and we will not provoke a dislocation of the reconciliation. Our focus is to redouble our efforts to ensure that our party members rededicate themselves to the party and for our elected and appointed representatives to work harder more than before in satisfying the yearning of Nigerians.”

However, for the second time in less than a week, PDP yesterday urged a Lagos State High Court to commit leaders of the party’s faction to prison for allegedly violating an order made by Justice Ganiyu Safari.
The application is different from the one at the Federal High Court, Abuja, in which the party urged the court to jail the alleged contemnors for “appointing” Olagunsoye Oyinlola as “national secretary” after a court had nullified his nomination by the PDP South-west zonal chapter.

The applicants in the suit filed yesterday by their lawyer, Mr. Ajibola Oluyede, were Tukur; Deputy National Chairman, Uche Secondus; National Women Leader, Dr. Kema Chikwe; and National Publicity Secretary, Metuh.

Those they seek to jail are Baraje, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja, Oyinlola, Maode Hiliya, Timi Frank, Mrs. Binta Koje, Mallam Nasir Issa, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, Aliyu Wadada and Mallam Tanko Gomna.

PDP is praying the court to jail Baraje, Jaja and Oyinlola for a term of one year or as the court may otherwise determine for alleged criminal contempt which they committed “in their conspiracy and actions to flout the purpose and authority of the court.”

The party said they obstructed the administration of justice through subverting the court’s processes and engaged in overt acts of defiance and violation of an order made on September 2.

Justice Safari had ordered in a ruling that the “parties maintain the status quo ante pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”

The judge also reaffirmed the order on Monday.
Despite the order, PDP said the alleged contemnors opened a new office /secretariat on September 4, and appointed themselves and the others into various offices constituting the PDP NWC.

The applicants said the “contemnors” did so “for the purpose of rendering the said orders of this Honourable Court nugatory and of no effect.”

But as the two factions continued to bicker, the members of Elders Committee, which was empanelled to resolve the crisis that has torn the party apart, met with the president  Tuesday.

The members comprising Obasanjo, in his capacity as chairman of the committee, former military president, Babangida, a former chairman of the party, Ali, met privately with Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, ostensibly to submit their recommendations for resolving the differences in the party.

Prior to the meeting, which lasted for about an hour, three governors loyal to the president and Tukur were also sighted at the office wing at the villa.
They were: Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, Gabriel Suswam of Benue State and Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State.

None of the governors spoke to reporters as they departed the villa after their rendezvous with the president.

Obasanjo’s team, according to a source, met with Jonathan in preparation for the enlarged meeting scheduled for last night within the precinct of the State House.

Journalists were barred from getting close to House Seven in the villa, which was the venue of the meeting.

news 2:15:00 PM