The federal government Sunday stepped up its harassment of members of the New PDP as it disrupted a meeting of five out of the seven aggrieved governors of the splinter group of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja. The governors at the meeting, which was held at the Kano Governors Lodge, were Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (Kano), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), Muazu Babangida Aliyu (Niger) and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa State). The two remaining governors in the group, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State and Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, were not present. Also in attendance was the National Chairman of the New PDP, Alhaji Kawu Baraje and National Secretary, Olagunsoye Oyinlola. The meeting, which was the second in the series yesterday, as the first meeting had been concluded before the governors reconvened for the second leg, was in progress when a contingent of policemen, led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the Asokoro Police Division, Nnanna Ama, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), stormed the venue to stop the governors and others from continuing with it. According to the New PDP spokesman, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, the governors were holding the meeting when Ama came, claiming that he had instruction from the presidential villa to stop the meeting. Eze, in a statement, said: “The caucus of the New Peoples Democratic Party (New PDP) met this evening, Sunday, November 3 2013, at the Kano State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, to review progress reports, accept the reports of committees and take important decisions on the future of the movement. “Sadly, midway into the meeting, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Asokoro Police Unit, CSP Nnanna Ama, burst onto the scene and ordered the meeting stopped, threatening to mobilise troops to abort it if his order was not obeyed. “According to CSP Ama he had the directive from the villa to arrest the governors if the meeting was not stopped. For a DPO to be sent not only to disrupt a meeting of governors duly elected by Nigerians but to arrest them if they fail to heed his counsel, is a sign that these people can decide to disrupt the association of any group of Nigerians at any time knowing that such an act is in breach of the constitution of our country. “What is more baffling to us is the continuous silence of our elders and past heads of state on the 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 who will 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 called to order on time.” The statement said before the disruption, the meeting had considered the Mobilisation/Contact Committee’s recommendations on how to receive the five new governors who will be joining the group and directed the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to set in motion the machinery to receive them. It also directed the NWC to examine the available options and recommend to the caucus the platform to be used for the 2015 general election so that the caucus could deliberate on this during its next meeting to be held immediately after the proposed peace talks with President Goodluck Jonathan. “The options to be considered include either to remain in PDP or adopt any of the three other options, namely: accept the proposal of APC (All Progressives Congress) or join PDM (Peoples Democratic Forum), VOP (Voice of the People) or form a new political party,” the statement added. It was gathered that security officials attached to the governors initially tried to resist Ama, but he stood his ground and demanded to see Kwankwaso, the host governor. He was said to have threatened to mobilise more policemen to the venue to forcibly stop the meeting if he was not allowed to see the governor. Oyinlola later told reporters that the meeting was convened to discuss developments in the polity, especially as it concerned the peace talks in the PDP when the policemen stormed the venue. He said: “We were holding our meeting with the governors when the DPO of Asokoro came in to say that he had instructions to disperse us from holding the meeting or he would effect the arrest. “We were surprised that in spite of the fact that the consultations on the resolution of the PDP crisis had been put on hold as a result of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Mecca that they would resort to this act of intimidation. “It was made known to all Nigerians that we would continue (the peace talks) after the pilgrimage. It was for the continuation of the reconciliation process that we were meeting here only for the DPO to come. And we said okay if you have instructions that we should not hold meeting, we are ready to be arrested. “We felt that this is the height of impunity for a DPO to have the guts to tell a group of governors they cannot meet. I think it was not as bad as this even during the military era. “We told him (Ama) that we were ready to be arrested and he should go and bring his troops to effect the arrest, following which we continued the meeting and we concluded it. “The resolution was that we should continue the meeting that was postponed with the president. That was the essence of the meeting. The policemen, who came in three Toyota Hilux vans, however did not arrest anybody. Yesterday’s incident was one in a series of efforts to intimidate members of the New PDP, who had broken away from the mainstream party during the August special national convention of the party in Abuja. The police had earlier sealed off the national secretariat of the New PDP in Abuja, while the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had threatened to demolish it for distorting the Abuja master plan. The ministry also sealed off the Adamawa State Governors Lodge, which the faction had been using as a temporary secretariat.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 04:03:40 +0000
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