The policemen were led by the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the command, Mr. Nnanna Ama.
The rebel governors were at the Kano
State Governor’s Lodge to meet on their grievances against the PDP and
how to marshall their points ahead of their planned meeting with
President Goodluck Jonathan .
Those at the meeting were Rabiu
Kwakwanso(Kano), Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Aliyu
Babangida (Niger), and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa).
Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed (Kwara) and Aliyu Wamakko(Sokoto) were not at the meeting.
The meeting was also attended by the Chairman of the New PDP,
Alhaji Abubakar Baraje; the National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye
Oyinlola; a former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Segun Oni; a former
Governor of Nasarawa State, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu and a host of others.
One of our correspondents sighted armed policemen when he arrived at the lodge.
They were said to have arrived the venue in three trucks , including a Toyota Hilux marked NPF6679C.
It was learnt that they initially
disrupted the meeting by asking the governors and others at the meeting
to disperse or be arrested.
It was learnt that when the governors
insisted on continuing the meeting, the policemen moved away but stayed
within the premises of the lodge.
Both Kwakwanso and Lamido spoke on behalf of the governors in Hausa Language.
But Oyinlola, who spoke in English, said that the meeting was a mere consultation by members of the New PDP.
The former PDP national secretary of
the PDP said the police held them hostage for several minutes,
adding that they were astonished when the DPO told them that he was
under instruction to disperse them .
He said, “We were holding our meeting
with the governors when the DPO of Asokoro came in to say that he had
an instruction to disperse us from holding our meeting or else effect
arrest.
“We were surprised that in spite of the
fact that the consultation on the resolution of the PDP crisis had been
put on hold as a result of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Mecca.
“And it was made known to all Nigerians
that we will continue after the pilgrimage break. It is for the
continuation of the reconciliation process that we were meeting here
only for the DPO to come.
“And we said okay if you had instructions that we should not hold the meeting, we were ready to be arrested.”
He said he and the governors “ felt that
it was the height of impunity for a DPO to have the guts to tell a
group of governors to stop meeting. ”
He said the situation was not that bad even during the military era.
Asked what they told the DPO, he
replied, “We told him that we were ready for arrest and that he should
go and bring his troops to do so.”
He said the DPO later walked away when he realised that the governors were adamant to continue with the meeting.
The DPO, who dressed in a T-shirt, refused to speak with journalists.
The spokesperson for the New PDP, Chief
Chukwuemeka Eze, wondered why former leaders of the country had
failed to speak on the “ impunity perpetuated by this administration.”
He said, “What is baffling to us the
more is the continuous silence of our elders and past heads of state on
these various acts of impunity perpetuated by this administration
knowing the grave danger such acts will lead this country to.
“Let it not be assumed that we are the
only ones to suffer for this desperation and frustration by some of
these misguided elements in this administration as they will go after
other Nigerians if they are not quickly called to order.”
He said the National Working Committee of the New PDP
was also directed to critically examine the available options and
recommend to the Caucus, the platform to be used for the 2015 general
elections.
Meanwhile, the New PDP has said the
rebel governors are comfortable with their open romance with the
All Progressives Congress.
Although the New PDP added
that the G-7 , were still hopeful that their grievances against the
Bamanga Tukur-led National Working Committee of the PDP would be
resolved, it said APC’s zeal to rescue the country was what attracted
the seven governors.
The factional PDP stated this in a
statement made available to journalists on Sunday less than 24 hours
after the PDP National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo , described a
former Vice- President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and other New PDP members, including the rebel governors, as ingrates.
In a statement by Eze , the factional
PDP said its members also appreciated “politics of tolerance and
cooperation “in the APC which are the basic tools for peace and
tranquility in the country.
It said, “Even though we remain
hopeful that wise counsel would prevail and our demands granted by the
PDP, we, at the same time, feel comfortable in the company of APC since
we share the same goal of rescuing our dear country from the
precipice and putting her firmly on the path of sustainable development.
“The presence of APC and the (New) PDP
leaders in large numbers at the Sokoto State University inauguration is
a positive development which raises hope for our fledgling democracy.
“It is a good example of politics of
tolerance and cooperation which we consider necessary if the country is
to experience peace and tranquillity, without which there could be no
development.”
It added that if the Tukur-led NWC
was determined to keep the governors and others, their conditions
should not be difficult for the PDP to meet.
The terms are the removal of Tukur,
the recognition of Amaechi as the authentic chairman of the Nigeria
Governors’ Forum, an end to the alleged harassment of its members
by security agents and the restoration of peace in the Rivers State
chapter of the party.
But the PDP deputy spokesman, Mr. Abdulahi Jalo, appealed to the rebel governors not to yield to the lobby by the APC.
Jalo, in a telephone interview with
one of our correspondents in Abuja on Sunday, said the issues raised by
the seven governors were being looked into.
He said, “Our governors should not be
deceived by the antics of the undemocratic party called the APC. They
can’t gain anything there.
“They should remain in the PDP where
their rights are guaranteed and where they are free to express their
opinions without molestation.
“Apart from the fact that the PDP
remains the only true national party, it is also a party loved by the
majority of Nigerians because they are all stakeholders.”
Meanwhile, PDP has given an indication that Tukur may not be removed to appease the seven governors and their supporters.
It said the majority of its members wanted him to continue steering the affairs of the Party.
The party, in a statement by its
National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, added that Tukur’s
maturity and fatherly disposition were the hallmarks of a statesman
willing to build, rather than destroy an institution he co-founded.
It said, “Tukur as a founding member of
the party is a bridge between the original ideals of the formation of
the party and its contemporary existence.
“His understanding that the PDP is a
broad-based coalition that exists to cement the bonds of national unity
is the reason he has been very accommodating to all views no matter how
they may have personally inconvenienced him.”
In Abeokuta, the PDP National Secretary ,
said on Saturday that the party was not shaken by the recent APC
moves to woo the aggrieved governors into the fold.
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