The Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan on Saturday said the leadership crisis currently rocking the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has ‘lots of input from the outside’.
Uduaghan, in an exclusive interview with Channels Television at the sideline of the Channels National Kids cub final match at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, said some of the governors had predicted that there would be crisis should an election be held to determine the Chairman of the NGF.
He said, “What is happening in the NGF right now is very unfortunate and some of us predicted it that if we go into an election the NGF might break up and that was why we tried to work towards a consensus.”
Uduaghan appealed to all aggrieved parties to calm down and find amicable solution to the leadership crisis.
The governor said, “What I will appeal is that people should cool down their tempers because the tempers are too high and people are making comments that are very inciting.
“Instead there should be a reconciliatory move by the players both within the NGF and outside the NGF; because whatever is happening within the NGF has a lot of input from outside.”
35 governors on Friday gathered in Abuja to elect a new Chairman for the NGF. The election returned the Rivers State governor, Chibuike Amaechi as Chairman scoring 19 votes while his opponent and governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang polled 16 votes with only the Yobe State
Governor absent.
However by Saturday, the Plateau Governor, dissatisfied with the results, referred to himself as the Chairman of the Governors Forum.
Addressing newsmen on Saturday shortly after his arrival from Abuja, Mr Jang said some of the governors who wanted to be the President in 2015, were the cause of the confusion currently bedevilling the forum.