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| PDP National Chairman, Dr Bamanga Tukur |
President
Goodluck Jonathan and the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party
are reaching out to the party’s 23 governors and state chairmen ahead
of the PDP National Executive Committee meeting.
Investigations on Wednesday revealed
that the leadership of the party had put the meeting on hold until the
tussle over the Nigerian Governors’ Forum chairmanship is resolved.
It was reliably gathered that the decision not to hold the NEC meeting was part of moves to avoid a rancorous forum.
The outcome of the ongoing efforts to
elect a new chairman, it was also learnt, would determine when the NEC
meeting would hold.
The PDP, had in a statement on Friday
by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said it was
ready to hold its NEC meeting.
The party, which said that its NEC
would discuss the setting up of standing committees, was however silent
on the date the meeting would hold.
It was gathered that a frosty
relationship between the party and some governors was responsible for
the delay in holding the NEC meeting.
Our correspondent gathered in Abuja on
Tuesday that a consultation between the Presidency and the governors as
well as state chairmen of the PDP which was aimed at ensuring a
rancour-free meeting was responsible for the delay.
A source privy to the moves said, “This
is normal in politics; you consult before, during, and after meetings.
However, the delay will amount to a waste of efforts if when it is
eventually convened we end up having a rancorous session.
“We have to be on the same page; we
can’t afford to have governors and chairmen speaking one language and
the leader of the party who is our President speaking another.
“This is very important because if you
look around, the only people who stand to benefit from any serious
crisis in our party are members of the opposition. We can’t afford to
let that happen.”
Our correspondent gathered that the
Presidency and the leadership of the party were monitoring the situation
at the governors’ forum.
A chieftain of the PDP, who pleaded
anonymity, told our correspondent that the party might not hold the
NEC meeting in the nearest future, if the result of NGF chairmanship
election did not favour it.
He said, “To the PDP leadership and the
Presidency, the NGF election is a matter of life and death. If Rivers
State Governor Rotimi Amaechi returns as the chairman, it means the
Presidency and the party have lost control of the forum.
“With Amaechi as the chairman of the
NGF, anti-Presidency forces may move for the dissolution of the NWC ,
which is close to President Jonathan.”
When contacted, Metuh said the party was more united now than before.
Claiming that the party was not reaching
out to governors and other members of NEC, he said members of the PDP
were now more determined to fortify the party and ensure that it
delivers on its current mandate.
Metuh said, “I want to confirm to you
that we are not reaching out to anybody; we have one mind; we have one
purpose and we are working for the progress of the party.
“There is nobody to be reached; we have
only one NEC and we will have the meeting and we will come out with
the best decisions.”
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