G-7 governors to boycott Oct. 7 meeting with President

PEACE seems so far from the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP).
The Group of Seven (G-7) governors and the
Baraje-led faction may boycott the October 7
meeting with President Goddluck Jonathan and
his supporters.
Both parties agreed to meet on October 7 at
the last session on September 16.
The meeting also agreed that both parties must
avoid making inflammatory statements.
The communiqué of the meeting was read by
Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu with
whom were President Jonathan and the other
governors .
But yesterday a source close to the G-7
governors said they could have honoured the
meeting in deference to the President but for
his close aides’ continuous umbrage against
members of the New PDP, thereby giving the
impression that the President and the Alhaji
Bamanga Tukur-led faction are prepared for a
fight to the finish in the “battle for the soul of
the party”.
The source said it would be insulting for PDP
National Chairman Bamanga Tukur, who was
never recognised as leader of the party to give
directive to Rivers State Governor Rotimi
Amaechi who is a strong voice in the party
from its inception.
He cautioned against any situation that may
push members of the new PDP to declare
support for the All Progressives Peoples
Congress (APC) noting that doing so may lead
to complete annihilation of the party in the
country.
He said: “For now, nothing has changed. We
had initially agreed to honour the October 7
meeting with the President out of courtesy.
But it’s obvious that some power drunk
persons have not been able to caution their
aides against making inflammatory statements
that may jeopardise the peace effort.
“As things stand today, we are collective in our
decision to boycott the October 7 Aso Rock
meeting. What are we going to discuss when
some of the close aides of the President have
said that they are ready for fight to the finish?
I think they are toying with this matter and
they will soon realise that this is no longer a
joke.
“Maybe, by next year, when it dawns on them
that the President cannot win the election with
all the battles going on, they may come to the
table. But that will be too late. I pray they
don’t push us to join the APC or any other
party. If that happens, then we can say a
goodbye to the PDP as a ruling party in
Nigeria.
“When people say we don’t have the majority,
I always laugh. How could anyone say that
when we already have a majority in the House
of Representatives? We already have more than
200 on our side and I know others are waiting
to join. Even in the Senate, efforts are on to
get a majority or, at least, two-thirds of the
members on the side of the new PDP. Let’s see
how Tukur and those backing him will sustain
the tempo of the noise they are making.
“When people say Tukur has written a letter to
Governor Amaechi to tender a letter of
apology, I laugh. Who is Tukur to write to a
governor for an apology? In the first place, is
Tukur the recognised chairman of the party
and what authority does he have to make such
a questionable demand? It is all a lie. The
Rivers governor has not seen any letter and if
he sees any, I can tell you that he would ignore
it. In fact, they should push any of the
aggrieved governors to point of turning this
into a personal battle. I doubt if they can bear
the consequences of such a possibility.”
The Baraje-led New PDP urged the President to
return diplomatic passports allegedly
withdrawn from Senate President David Mark
and House Speaker Aminu Tambuwal.
The party was reacting to reports that
diplomatic passports of leaders and some
members of the National Assembly may have
been withdrawn on the directive of the
Presidency.
In a statement issued by the faction’s National
Publicity Secretary, Chukwuemeka Eze
yesterday, the party attributed the action to a
fallout of the warm reception given members
of the PDP breakaway group when they visited
the National Assembly last week.
The statement said: “The implication is that
whenever they travel abroad, the 109 Senators
and 360 members of the House of
Representatives would no longer enjoy the
special privileges the blue-coloured passport
confers on its holder, meaning that they can
be arrested like ordinary citizens.
“This directive, if eventually carried out, would
only end up unnecessarily overheating the
polity. Those encouraging the President in this
direction are actually his true enemies as it is
not wise to incur the wrath of these great
Nigerians knowing the implications for him
politically”.
The faction pleaded with Dr. Jonathan to
consider the consequences of working against
the legislators who have stood by him all these
years and even introduced the ‘doctrine of
necessity’ that brought him to power against
the wish of the cabal that sought to exploit the
illness of the late President Umaru Musa
Yar’Adua, to rule by proxy.
The Baraje faction also called on Jonathan to
reinstate his Special Adviser on National
Assembly, Senator Joy Emodi, who was relieved
of her appointment on Friday.
The faction alleged that Emodi was sacked
because she voiced her objection to financial
inducement of members of the National
Assembly for the purpose of impeaching their
leaders.
“If this is true, we hereby demand her
immediate reinstatement. For Senator Emodi to
be bold enough to tell Mr. President the
implication of such a corrupt inducement of
the lawmakers, should earn her commendation
rather than a sack.
“ Instead of sacking such a forthright and
patriotic Amazon, the President should sack
those hawks around him planning to ridicule
him by encouraging him to embark on acts
capable of making him very unpopular
amongst his supporters and followers”, the
statement added.
Rather, Baraje called for the sack of Aviation
Minister, Princess Stella Oduah, for
abandoning work on the remodeling of the
Port Harcourt International Airport.
The faction alleged that the minister’s action
was informed by the ongoing political friction
between the President and the Rivers State
Governor.
“We plead with you, Mr. President, not to
embark upon any further act or impunity that
will endanger the peace and unity of our
troubled nation”, the faction said.