GOING! GOING!! GOING!!! Peace Talks: Jonathan Bows, Agrees To Tukur’s Exit As a way out of the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, facts have emerged on what President Goodluck Jonathan and the seven aggrieved governors agreed on at the Sunday parley. National Mirror learnt that it was a win-win situation for both parties. While the President conceded to the removal of the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the seven aggrieved governors backpedalled on their insistence that President Jonathan should not seek a re-election in 2015 as part of the alleged one-term pact he entered into with the governors. The meeting which started about 4p.m. and ended about 11p.m. was presided over by President Jonathan. Vice- President Namadi Sambo and the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, BoT, Chief Tony Anenih, were in attendance. Some of the aggrieved governors in attendance include Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) and Sule Lamido (Jigawa). Also at the meeting were governors considered loyal to the Tukur-led executive. They are Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Liyel Imoke (Cross River) and Idris Wada (Kogi). Only Governor Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto) was absent at the parley. Six of the seven aggrieved governors or G7 as they are called had on August 31 staged a walk out at the PDP special convention in Abuja to form a parallel PDP with Abubakar Baraje as chairman. The aggrieved governors had expressed dissatisfaction with the leadership of Tukur and demanded for his removal. They also demanded the resolution of the Adamawa PDP crisis in favour of Nyako and the lifting of the suspension of Amaechi from the party and that President Jonathan should respect his one-term agreement. Also, the governors are demanding a halt in their investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. It was learnt that farreaching decisions were taken at the Sunday meeting, but the aggrieved governors were waiting for their implementation. It was agreed at the meeting that there was no way a sitting President could be denied a right to seek a reelection. So, the demand for Jonathan not to seek reelection was dropped. “The issue of the President not seeking a reelection was exhaustively discussed at the Sunday parley. We came to a conclusion that whether there is an existence of one-term agreement or not, President Jonathan should not be given a condition to run or not. The decision to seek a re-election should be his. So, the aggrieved governors agreed to drop the agitation of Jonathan not contesting in 2015. “Also, the President told the governors that they are free to contest the PDP primaries against him if they so desire,” a source said. One of the demands of the seven aggrieved governors was also the removal of Tukur. It was learnt that President Jonathan told the governors that Tukur had not done anything unconstitutional to warrant his removal. Jonathan reportedly told his audience at the meeting that he could not just use presidential fiat to remove Tukur. At the meeting, like in the two previous ones, the seven aggrieved governors cited instances of how Tukur had breached the party’s constitution and acted ‘autocratic’. The crises in state chapters of the party, especially in Adamawa and Rivers, were the focal points. After a long deliberation, the Sunday’s meeting agreed that Tukur would have to go for peace to reign in the PDP, but the exit from the party would not be immediate. According to a source at the meeting, it was agreed that the national chairman should resign and not forced out of office. The exit plan was to have Tukur resign honourably within the next three months. “The decision on Tukur was a tough one for President Jonathan. But the general consensus even among the governors loyal to the president was that Tukur has to give way. But Jonathan made it known that he will resist any attempt to disgrace or force Tukur out of office. “So it was agreed that a soft-landing should be given to Tukur. The details are still being worked out. One thing is certain: Tukur will resign as party chairman but not as soon as you expect. It has to be gradual so that it won’t look like a fight. President Jonathan cannot force him to resign as it used to be. The exit plan may take up to three months to implement,” one of the governors told National Mirror. An aide of the President told our correspondent that President Jonathan took the decision not to hurriedly accede to the request of the aggrieved governors so that he would not set a bad precedent. “Don’t forget that the National Assembly had recommended the sack of heads of federal institutions. Tomorrow, the governors or lawmakers can call for the removal of ministers or national chairman of his party. And if he does that nobody will be willing to serve in his government. “That is why he is handling the issue of Tukur with caution,” a presidential aide told our correspondent. Part of the agreements reached at the Sunday parley was that the state executives of the PDP in Adamawa and Rivers states should be restored to Governors Nyako and Amaechi, respectively. Also, it was agreed that the suspension slammed on Amaechi by the Tukur-led leadership should be lifted. As such, a special National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting of the party will soon be held where the decisions will be taken and ratified on Amaechi, Rivers and Adamawa states. On the crisis rocking the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, the President initially insisted that there should be a fresh election of the Forum which Amaechi and any of the governors are free to participate. “President Jonathan stood his ground that Amaechi cannot continue to preside over the NGF. The president was so frank such that he said Amaechi was only using the NGF platform to advance his course and abuse the Federal Government and deride its policies,” a source at the meeting told our correspondent. It was learnt that after a lot of persuasion and appeals from both sides, President Jonathan reportedly acceded to the demand that Amaechi should be allowed to remain in his postion. “It was a tough decision for the president but as a statesman and father to all, he agreed to intervene in the NGF crisis and allow Amaechi to function as the forum chairman. So, Mr. President will soon resolve the NGF crisis and recognise Amaechi as its chairman,” the source added. But President Jonathan was said to have given a caveat: Amaechi is to sign an undertaking that he will not use the NGF as a platform to abuse the Presidency and criticise Federal Government’s policies. Governor Amaechi will have to make his position known on the NGF crisis at the October 7 parley, whether he will abide by the President’s condition or not. A source at the meeting noted that Amaechi is desirous of reconciliation. It was learnt that one thorny issue at the meeting was the request of the aggrieved governors to halt the ongoing investigation by the EFCC, allegedly targeted at some of them. The EFCC has prosecuted Aminu the son of Governor Lamido, for money laundering. Aminu was caught with $50,000 on December 11, 2012 at Mallam Aminu International Airport, Kano on his way to Cairo, Egypt. He was convicted by the Federal High Court, Kano and had to forfeit 25 per cent of the undeclared $40,000 found on him. Also, Governor Ahmed of Kwara feels that the ongoing investigation of his predecessor, Senator Bukola Saraki, by the EFCC is aimed at him. Ahmed was Commissioner for Finance in the Saraki administration. National Mirror learnt that the President told the aggrieved governors that as a leader who is building institutions, he won’t at the same time be destroying such institutions and embarking on selective investigation or prosecution. The President was said to have only assured the governors that he won’t allow political prosecution by any of the anti-graft agencies. He urged them to allow EFCC to do its job while the courts are there to adjudicate. Governor Akpabio yesterday confirmed that the aggrieved governors have softpedalled on their demand that President Jonathan must not seek re-election in 2015 as a condition for peace and reconciliation. Speaking with State House Correspondents after meeting with the President at the State House yesterday, Akpabio explained that the peace process was still being discussed, stressing that his aggrieved colleagues have consented that Jonathan’s unofficial ambition to run for another term in 2015 is not negotiable. Speaking further on last Sunday’s meeting, Akpabio said: “The processes are on and of course on the issue of 2015, both sides agreed that it wasn’t an issue for discussion because every single person has a right to have ambition. Some of the governors may have ambition like I have ambition to go to Senate and you can’t discuss anything about another person’s ambition. You are the only person that can discuss your own ambition. Ambition is personal. So both parties agreed to that. “In all other issues, we have put in place methodologies of settling them and of course it’s a process issue. Process is on. It was in the first place an internal issue of the PDP and so we are going to settle it internally. “The disagreement differs from state to state. So, it wasn’t as if there was a major issue with all PDP governors. There were few states that had difficulties. Some states complained about their delegates not being allowed entry to Eagle Square, some complained about party positions and some had court issues. But these are all things that we cannot allow to affect the fabric of the party and of course by implication the fabric of the nation because the PDP is Nigeria. “We have been in power for the past 14 years and Nigerians have confidence that this is the only truly national party that expresses true aspirations of all and sundry and of course it is also the only party that is not owned by any individual. “It’s a party that belongs to all Nigerians. Even the market woman in Sokoto claims ownership of the PDP and of course the same thing with the trader in Akwa Ibom state. The same thing with somebody in the South-West and the same thing in South-East. “So, the PDP is Nigeria and so anything that affects the PDP will affect the entire country. And that is why we commend the President for the peace process, for his humility and for his decision to be a father to all and for behaving like a good shepherd where if one single sheep goes astray, he abandons the 99 to go and pick that one. And that was the spirit and everybody is coming on board now.” After the Sunday meeting, Governor Aliyu had told journalists that the meeting agreed that parties in the crisis should refrain from making inflammatory statements while another meeting was scheduled to hold on October 7. Also, Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Ahmed Gulak, yesterday said that President Jonathan has the constitutional right to contest the 2015 election, stressing that no one can intimidate him not to seek for a second term in office. Speaking with State House correspondents yesterday at the Presidential Villa, Gulak said: “The 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended has given Mr. President the right to offer himself for a second term if he so chooses and nobody, either individual or group, can abridge his constitutional right. “If he decides not to contest, let it be on his own volition, not because he is intimidated or cajoled into doing that.” On the EFCC probe, he said: “About EFCC, I have said it before and will say it again, Mr. President will never ask such an independent body not to carry out their job or statutory function. The third is about national chairman and I have said he emerged through the process of election and his removal is also guided by constitutional provisions.” On whether the National Chairman of the PDP, would survive the crisis in the party, Gulak said that there are processes for removing the chairman. “The national chairman has no problem, he was elected and I always say that as there are processes for election, there are processes for removal or resignation. So nobody can cajole anybody to say the national chairman will not survive. Nobody is against the national chairman”, Gulak said. Meanwhile the aggrieved governors are sceptical about the sincerity of the President and his loyalists to the peace terms. National Mirror learnt that already the governors are consulting on the next line of actions. A source close to the aggrieved governors told our correspondent that the list of nominees to replace the nine sacked ministers will determine the sincerity to the peace terms. “If the President ignores the input of the governors in the ministerial nominees, then it means they are not sincere with the peace terms. Also, we are concerned that between now and October when the next meeting is taking place, they might have installed their stooges as state executives of the party in the aggrieved governors’ domains,” an aide of one of the governors told National Mirror. Source: NATIONAL MIRROR
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 18:13:05 +0000