The
Presidency has initiated a fresh move to ensure that Rivers State
Governor Rotimi Amaechi does not retain his post as Chairman of the
Nigerian Governors’ Forum.
It was gathered that ahead of the fifth
meeting of the NGF slated for Wednesday, 15 state governors met with
President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday night in Abuja.
Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum,
Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State-led the delegation which had
Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State as the only non-PDP governor in
attendance.
A source privy to the meeting confided
in one of our correspondents that the Forum which was preceded by a
special dinner was “essentially to mobilise support for the emergence of
Katsina State Governor Ibrahim Shema as the next chairman of the NGF.”
He said, “We have been able to secure
the understanding of our governors especially our brothers from the
North. I believe for the sake of balance, it makes a lot of sense to
have a northern PDP governor as chairman of the NGF because we already
have Governor Akpabio, a Southerner as chairman of the PDP Governors’
Forum.”
The source noted that members of the NGF
in opposition political parties were 10 out of the 36 governors in
the country. He added that at least two governors in the opposition
parties were likely to throw their weight behind any candidate supported
by the PDP.
Our correspondents also gathered that as
the NGF meets in Abuja tomorrow, the issue of election has again been
deferred as it is currently not on the agenda.
Special Adviser to the President on
Political Matters, Dr. Ahmed Gulak, said that Presidency’s interest
was in upholding the rule of law.
According to him, the President as a
loyal member of the PDP, will be delighted to have another PDP governor
taking over from Amaechi as the NGF chairman as his tenure draws to a
close.
Gulak said the President was ready to
work with any of the governors of the PDP that would eventually
replace the Rivers State governor.
When asked whether Jonathan would be
ready to work with the embattled chairman of the NGF if re-elected, the
presidential aide said the issue of re-election of Amaechi did not
arise.
Gulak said, “The fact that the President
met with the PDP governors was an indication that he is united with the
governors. When has it become an aberration for him to meet the
governors?
“It is not about removing Amaechi.
Amaechi’s tenure as NGF chairman is ending this April, so nobody is
talking about his removal. When Bukola Saraki’s tenure ended, he handed
over to Amaechi. Since Amaechi’s tenure is ending too, he must hand over
to somebody else.
PUNCH
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