PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan is today moving to check cracks in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, arising from the suspension of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State from the party at a dinner for senior officials and members of the party.
The move by the president is coming as Governor Babatunde Fashola, yesterday, described as disgraceful the conduct of some of his colleagues following the election of Amaechi as chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF. He tendered an apology to Nigerians on the issue. The development came as some activists on the occasion of Democracy Day called for the abrogation of the NGF saying that it had become a waste to citizens governed by the governors. News of today’s dinner to be hosted by the president was given in a notice issued by the national publicity secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh.
Admission into the dinner couched as a “family dinner” is, however, strictly by invitation to party members who are expected to call two telephone numbers 08072579776, 08033145661 contained in the notice.
The president it was learnt is expected to use the dinner rouse party faithful to be steadfast and loyal to the party leadership in the face of increasing attacks from the opposition. It could not be confirmed if the president would mention the latest crisis arising from the suspension of Governor Amaechi from the party, but the issue is, however, expected to cast a large spectre at the meeting given increasing questions on the procedure used in the suspension of the governor without a hearing.
Senior party figures apparently not willing to be caught in the crossfire were, yesterday, escaping discussion on the matter. Nevertheless, Governor Fashola has expressed disappointment over the turn out of the issue and apologised to Nigerians.
Reacting to a question from the audience during an interactive broadcast on Lagos Television to mark his sixth anniversary in office, Fashola said: “I am not proud of what is happening with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF. I feel bad about it and as a governor, I should apologise to Nigerians over the way the election issue has been handled. We are sorry.”
Meanwhile Lagos Lawyer, Mr. Bamidele Aturu and President, Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, Dr. Frederick Fasehun have called for the abrogation of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, saying it was an avenue for the governors to waste their respective state’s revenue.
In a statement issued by the Dr Fasehun to mark democracy day, he expressed surprise at the rancour that characterised the election that produced two chairmen of the Forum. In same vein, Aturu expressed shock and disgust at the rejection of the result by the losers in the NGF election as he called for the demise of the forum and other bodies alike.
He said: “In all democratic settings it is sacrilegious to question the procedure of an election in which one took part after the result of the election, particularly when the procedure is not known to have violated the Constitution of the association or of any known democratic norm. It is, therefore, extremely childish, and irrationally so, that some people who claim to be governors can openly identify with the irrational rejection of the result of the NGF Election.I believe no word can be too harsh to deprecate the un-becoming conduct of those governors who have rejected the result of the election.”
Meantime, factional Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Governor Olusegun Mimiko, yesterday, challenged the Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s faction to release to the public the video recording of the three-hour exercise. Speaking at this year’s Democracy day lecture in Akure, Mimiko said the Amaechi faction only released a 10 minutes part of the video that favours them.
The governor said: “Nigerians should ask the pro-Amaechi’s group why he presided over an election which he is also contesting. I specifically raised that issue and insisted that he must resign but his supporters maintained that he should supervise the poll as a sitting chairman. They asked me whether I resigned my position while seeking a re-election for a second term in office and I replied them that it was not the same thing because the NGF is like an association not a democratic institution which had its existence entrenched in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“When it was obvious that we could not guarantee the source of the ballot boxes and papers brought by Amaechi, I protested again that we should conduct the election openly by raising up our hands in support of our preferred candidate. Again, they rejected it. The ballot papers they produced were without serial numbers and we discovered this was a fraud, hence there were protests. They never captured all these facts in their video but merely recorded the fraction of the process which was in line with their pre-determined agenda.”
The Democracy day lecture was delivered by Prof Bola Akinterinwa the Director General Nigerian Institute of International Affair NIIA with the title “Democracy, security and development, the challenges of Ondo State as a catalyst agent.”
Also the National Chairman of Labour Party Mr Dan Nwayanwun has faulted the purported emergence of Mr Rotimi Amaechi as the factional chairman of Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF).
Source: Vanguard