Jonathan, Sambo meet PDP govs over defection

Two crucial meetings aimed at resolving the crisis in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party which led to the recent defection of five governors were held inside the Presidential Villa,  Abuja on Sunday.

The first was between 11  governors and two deputy governors and  Vice-President Namadi Sambo  while the   second was between President Goodluck Jonathan and the two remaining  rebel  governors -   Sule Lamido (Jigawa ( and   Babangida Aliyu (Niger).

While Jonathan met with the aggrieved governors inside the First Lady’s  Conference Room in the Villa;  Sambo and the other governors met in  House Seven.

The Jonathan, Aliyu and Lamido’s meeting which ended at about 10.29pm  was adjourned till  Sunday.

The Chairman of the PDP  Board of Trustees, Chief Anthony Anenih, who briefed State House correspondents at the end of the meeting said Jonathan, and the rebel governors were happy that they were moving to restore confidence and trust in the PDP leadership.

“We have had our meeting presided over by the President with the Vice-President in attendance. We had useful meeting, the summary of it all is that we are happy that we are moving to restore confidence and trust. There will be a series of meetings between now and the weekend,” Anenih said.

Lamido restated his position that he would remain in the PDP.

“I stand by my principles which is one Nigeria which is based on law and order,” he said.

Aliyu also said he attended the meeting because he was still a member of the PDP.

 Sambo,  Wada,  Imoke  and Akpabio joined the meeting before it ended.

The meeting between the Vice –President, the other PDP governors and  the two deputy governors  had ended at about 8.30pm.

None of those who attended it was ready to speak with journalists.

When State House correspondents approached a factional chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State,    he directed them to the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Governor Godswill Akpabio.

Akpabio, who   said the meeting was at the instance of the Vice-President,  declined to  state what they discussed.

Sambo was joined at the meeting by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator  Anyim Pius Anyim and the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe.

The other  governors  present at the  meeting were  Martins Elechi (Ebonyi), Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Idris Wada (Kogi), Jonah Jang (Plateau), Shehu Shema (Katsina), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Theodore Orji (Abia), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Liyel Imoke (Cross River).

The   deputy governors of Niger and Kaduna  were in attendance.

The governors drove to the venue in  a group from the Akwa Ibom State Govenor’s Lodge in Abuja where they had met earlier.

Five  of the seven rebel PDP governors – Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (Kano), Aliyu  Wamakko (Sokoto) and Murtala  Nyako (Adamawa)- had last  week defected to the APC.

At  the meeting  held by the  11 governors and the two deputy governors  at the Akwa Ibom State Governor’s Lodge,  before they headed for the Presidential Villa, five of their colleagues were not in attendance.

Source