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Tag: G-7 governors

  • Kwankwaso faults Lamido’s comments on G-five governors

    Kwankwaso faults Lamido’s comments on G-five governors

    … Obasanjo’s exit signals PDP’s demise

    Fresh facts are now emerging on what led to the breakup of the G-Seven Governors Forum that protested during the Peoples Democratic Party’s special convention in 2013.

    Leader of the governors G-Seven group, Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, who is now the North-West Coordinator of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Presidential campaign team, recently said his five colleagues’ exit from the party will not affect the progress of the party.

    Lamido declared that the exit of Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso (Kano), Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto), Abdulfatai Ahmed (Kwara) and the impeached Murtala Nyako of Adamawa state, from PDP is inconsequential and of no effect to the success of the party in the forthcoming general election.

    But Kwankwaso took exception to Lamido’s utterances on the five governors, describing him as a betrayer.

    He said, “I don’t want to talk too much about the Governor of Jigawa State. Everybody know that he was part of us. He worked so hard. In fact, he was the leader of the group. He took us to a level that we felt there was no going back, and we were surprised that he had different things in mind. He stayed in the PDP and we felt we had no business being in PDP.

    “I think if there is anybody who should criticize our exit, I believe it shouldn’t come from him or the Governor of Niger State. I don’t want to join issues with any of my colleagues. Nigerians are the best judges on our actions and utterances and of course on what we have done. And I believe that judgment will be part of what will happen during the next elections.

    “What we have done is not a secret, it is not something that anybody can hide and I believe that we have done the right thing, we have deepened democracy. PDP is no more the monster it used to be where nobody was important, where people were not respected, even the governor of the most populous state who won election almost single-handedly within the party to come back as a governor.

    “I was not being respected and they see me as an irritant and so on, but I can tell you, now if there is anything they can do under the sun to take me back to their party, they will do. I can assure you now that they know the importance of Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso in Nigerian politics. I have no business talking about my colleagues. You can bring another topic.”

    Kwankwaso also described the PDP as a dying elephant, saying the exit of former President Olusegun Obasanjo is an indication that the party is already dead.
    He said Obasanjo’s resignation confirmed the evil that is going in the party.

    The governor said, “Obasanjo has got supporters not only in Ogun State, not only in western states, but across the country, and for him to come out to say what he said (because most of us who have worked closely with him know that he is somebody who tolerates things). I have not seen him since he decided to leave the PDP, but I can comfortably say that so much must have happened in the party for him to come out and tear his card and said that he has left the party.

    Kwankwaso also described Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose’s recent statements against the All Progressive Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, as reckless and unguided, saying such utterances should not emanate from a person who called himself a leader.

  • PDP defectors are over ambitious – Tukur

    PDP defectors are over ambitious – Tukur

    The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has accused party members who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) of being over ambitious.

    According to him, while the five PDP governors that defected to the APC were nursing presidential ambition, their 37 counterparts who defected in the House of Representatives had governorship ambition in their various states.

    Wednesday’s defection in the House of Representatives came few weeks after five governors elected on the platform of the PDP defected to the APC.

    The five governors that defected to the APC on November 26 were – Rotimi Amaehi (Rivers); Musa Kwankwaso (Kano); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara).

    A statement issued on Thursday from his office quoted the party chairman to have stated this while receiving a delegation of PDP youths from 19 northern states at his Abuja residence.

    Tukur maintained that the call for his removal from office by certain members of the party was a smokescreen to shield their various ambitions.

    He maintained that those calling for his removal must have realised that with him as party chairman, there is no way they could realise their ambitions.

    The chairman said: “The crises we are witnessing in PDP are about 2015. The promoters are members who wanted to be president at all costs and those who wanted to be vice president at all costs.

    “Others were those who wanted to seek re-election as governors. Most of them felt if there was no crisis, their different ambitions would not be fulfilled.”

     

     

  • Governors’ defection: ACF advocates two party system

    The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), the north’s socio-political organisation wants the nation’s political parties reduced to two for the growth and development of the political system.

    Reacting to the merger of the new Peoples Democratic Party and the G-7 governors with the All Progressive Congress, the forum said that it is clear that multi party democracy has not provided Nigerians with a clear choice because the parties have been “clone” of each other.

    The forum said the defection of five of the PDP governors to the opposition is “democracy in action.”

    The group said, “The defection of five PDP Governors to APC is democracy in action which allows players to change their political strategy towards declared goals when the need arises.

    “ACF sees the unfolding events as a healthy development towards emergence of a viable alternative platform for the polity, considering democracy without viable opposition is a sham.

    “You would note that ACF has been hankering for a two-party system that can provide clear choices for the voters. Before now, the multi-party practices has not provided Nigerians with clear choices painfully designed and laboriously erected by the political parties, precisely because the political parties have been clones of one another.

    “Consequently, the choice has been reduced from which political parties can deliver on the promise of democracy to which of the political parties has the capacity to win elections in a political economy that enables government to determine who gets what, why, where, how and when.

    “ACF therefore hopes the unfolding political dynamics will lead to the evolution of two political parties which are far-sighted, sure-footed and resolute in their determination to promote democracy premised on triple foundation of liberty, justice and common decency, needed for the development and growth of our democracy.”

     

     

  • G-7 governors’ defection long overdue – Presidential Aide

    The Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Ahmed Gulak, on Tuesday declared that the defection by some aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress (APC) is a welcome development.

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Gulak said their movement is not a threat to the PDP and the Presidency ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    He said the pronouncement by the aggrieved governors would now spur influx of new members to the PDP from other parties.

    Reacting to the defection, he said: “Well, I know that five of them said that they will join the APC. But two later issued statements that they are not part of the arrangement – that is the Governor of Niger and Jigawa States. This is the fact on ground.”

     

     

  • Buhari, Tinubu, G-7 governors meet in Abuja

    Buhari, Tinubu, G-7 governors meet in Abuja

    The G-7 governors of the Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday morning began a crucial meeting with top leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja.

    The meeting which began at 9.30am at Kano Governor’s Lodge followed a similar one by the governors that ended at midnight.

    Although the agenda of the session were sketchy at press time, there were indications that it might be connected with overtures to the governors by APC leadership.

    A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The meeting is the last in the series to guide the governors to either remain in PDP or defect to APC.

    “It is part of the ongoing consultations by the aggrieved governors.”

    Those at the meeting are a former head of state, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), the National Chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Governors Rotimi Amaechi, Murtala Nyako, Abdulfatai Ahmed, Rabiu Kwankwaso, ex-Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, ex-Governor Bukola Saraki and Imam Kashim among others.

    Sokoto State Governor, Aliyu Wammako, was being expected as at press time.

     

  • My grouse with aggrieved governors – Akpabio

    My grouse with aggrieved governors – Akpabio

    Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, on Monday maintained that disrespect for the office of the President of Nigeria is central to the crisis in the party.

    Seven aggrieved Peoples Democratic Party governors had during the last mini convention of the party in Abuja stormed out of the venue to form the “New PDP.”

    They had protested against alleged lack of internal democracy in the party and demanded for the sack of the party’s National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, among other demands.

    Speaking with State House correspondents in Abuja on Monday, Akpabio said that governors can only get respect from people and institutions under them only when they respect people and institutions above them including the office of the President.

    Asked when the problem and demands of the aggrieved governors would be finally addressed, he said, “Well, I’ve seen newspapers clips where they said the rebellious governors, the G-7 and so on and so forth. In any rebellion, we can resolve it through dialogue and I think that that’s what the President is doing, that’s what the PDP leadership is out to do to see how it can dialogue and bring the situation to a close.”

    “But, you see, it all depends. But for me, I believe that you cannot be a good leader unless you’re a good follower and I believe also strongly that leadership comes from God. So the question of rebelling against leadership does not occur because if I rebel against the leadership at the federal level, I should expect somebody also to rebel against my leadership at the state level, may be from my own local government or thereabouts,” he added.

     

  • How to resolve Presidency, G-7 Governors’ feud – Kalu

    Former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, on Thursday canvassed compromise between the national leadership of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and the aggrieved G-7 governors as the only solution to the intractable crisis rocking the party.

    Kalu called for a common ground on the vexed issues among the feuding parties as one of the ways to resolve the impasse.

    He noted that without both parties applying compromise, the polity will he heated unnecessarily, a development, he said is unfavorable for the nation’s democracy.

    The former governor spoke to journalists at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    He said such bickering among governors and the Presidency does not portray the country in good light, adding that some sacrifice here and there among the feuding parties will help to give peace a chance.

    He said, “The President and the National Chairman of the PDP should also give in a little bit. They should both find a common ground for the unity of the party and for the unity of Nigerian people.

    “Nigerians people need more of democratic dividends than this impasse. This impasse has taken a lot both from the governors and also from the President and from the party at large.”

     

     

     

  • nPDP to IGP: Probe disruption of G-7 governors’ meeting

    nPDP to IGP: Probe disruption of G-7 governors’ meeting

    The leadership of the New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) has demanded a probe into the November 3 disruption of a meeting of the G-7 governors at the Kano State governor’s lodge, Asokoro, Abuja by a Divisional Police Officer, Mr. Nnana Amah.

    Amah had barged into the Kano State Governor’s lodge where the governors were meeting, saying that he had “orders from above” to stop the meeting or to get the governors arrested.

    The governors at the meeting were – Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano); Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); Babangida Aliyu (Niger); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and others.

    The party’s call for probe is coming on the heels of a submission by the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar that the order to disrupt the meeting did not emanate from his office.

    In his submission before the House of Representatives Committee on Police Affairs last week, Abubakar had said: “I want to state categorically that neither myself nor any of my officers directed anybody to disrupt any meeting. But the officer has a duty to account for his actions and activities within his domain.”

    In a statement issued on Tuesday by the National Publicity Secretary of the nPDP, Chukwuemeka Eze, the party challenged the IGP to prove his sincerity by instituting a probe into the incident.

    The statement said: “This is the only way to convince Nigerians that he (IGP) had no hand in the brazen attempt by the Divisional Police Officer of Asokoro Division, CSP Nnanna Amah, to abruptly and illegally terminate a legitimate gathering of seven of the country’s governors.

    “CSP Nnanna Amah, who had the temerity to threaten to arrest the G-7 Governors if they did not stop the meeting, claimed to be acting on orders from a higher authority from the Villa. Who is that authority in the Villa? Nigerians surely deserve to know.”

    The party further charged the IGP to prove beyond doubt that he was not being economical with the truth about the incident.

    “We hope that IGP Abubakar is not trying to hide behind a finger in this instance.

    “We are just thinking aloud because the IGP cannot claim ignorance of the impunity being perpetrated in Rivers State by the Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu, who has continued to be retained in that sensitive office despite requests for his transfer out of the state by the Rivers State Government, the National Assembly and many other eminent groups and individuals.

     

  • ‘Disrupting G-7 governors’ meeting is lawlessness’

    ‘Disrupting G-7 governors’ meeting is lawlessness’

    The invasion of the Kano State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja by the police last Sunday night to disrupt the meeting of the G-7 governors was the height of lawlessness, activists have said.

    The Network of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria said the action of the police is an insult to the image of the country.

    The Publicity Secretary of the organisation, Emeh Eleojo, who spoke with reporters in Abuja yesterday, said the country was becoming increasingly unsafe with the action of the police.

    The organisation told the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to tell Nigerians who he took the order from, to disrupt the governors’ meeting since he said he was acting on ‘orders from above’.

    “The action of the DPO against the noble and performing governors is the height of lawlessness in Nigeria.”

  • Atiku condemns police invasion of G-7 governors meeting

    Atiku condemns police invasion of G-7 governors meeting

    Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday strongly condemned Sunday’s disruption of the G- 7 Governors meeting in Abuja.

    Atiku, who made the condemnation when the Bishop and Eminent Clerics Forum of Nigeria, Niger Delta Chapter, visited him in Abuja, said the action of the police was despicable.

    The former vice president, who also spoke on the proposed National Dialogue, noted that though he was not opposed to it, the conference is likely to clash with the 2015 electioneering campaigns.

    While decrying the continued harassment and intimidation of the G-7 governors and members of the New Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku said: “I am opposed to what the government has done. I have said it before, there is fundamental freedom of association under our constitution and democratic dispensation.

    “It is totally wrong. I don’t support what the government has done. And I don’t support the government using the police to disrupt peaceful meetings, even meetings in homes.”

    On the proposed national dialogue, Atiku said the present administration lacks the capacity to handle the 2015 electioneering campaigns and the conference.

    He said: “I don’t object to it. But my only problem is that it is timed in such a way that the conference is likely to overlap with electioneering campaign and I don’t see this government having the capacity to handle both events at the same time.”

    Atiku said the visit of the clerics was part of consultations on how to achieve unity, peace and stability in the country.