We won’t dump PDP – G7 Govs

ABUJA—TWENTY-four hours after men of the Nigeria Police disrupted the meeting of the G-7 governors at the Kano State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, the governors, yesterday, denied any plans to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for any opposition party, saying resolution of the crisis ravaging the ruling party was in sight.
They spoke after series of closed-door meetings with elder statesmen in Ogun and Lagos states.
Those they visited over the crisis in the PDP and the state of the nation were former President Olusegun Obasanjo; former Head of the Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan; and former Defence Minister, Lt-General Theophilus Danjuma(rtd).

At the closed-door parleys with the elder statesmen were Governors Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of  Kano,  Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, Sule Lamido of Jigawa and Babangida Aliyu of Niger State. Governors Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto) did not make it.
After a two-hour meeting with Obasanjo at his Hilltop residence in  Abeokuta, Ogun State, which began at 12:06 pm and ended at 2: 05pm, the governors in a chat with reporters denied any plan to dump the PDP for any other party, saying, they were all back in the PDP contrary to speculations that they were planning to leave their party for the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The governors, who were in the same  Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), were driven by Governor Amaechi while five other cars with their number plates covered followed them.
They also brought some cars with Oyo State Government number plates which included two black Hyundai space buses marked OIA 01OY and OIA02 OY, a Hilux  with number plate  OIA 32 OY and a luxury bus marked OY 667 AOI while three Hilux trucks with no number plates were also part of the convoy.
It’s another round of consultation – Aliyu
Aliyu described the meeting with Obasanjo as another round of consultations over the crisis rocking the party. Asked  why they visited Obasanjo, Aliyu said:  “You may recall that when issues started, we consulted our elders, so this is part of the consultation.
More so, we are coming to the resolution of the matters. We believe that very soon; we’ve been discussing with the president, discussing about these matters and we believe after the pilgrimages, we are all back, we needed to consult again to find out if there is any variable that has intervened and we are very happy things are going normally.”
On whether they came to say goodbye to PDP by visiting Obasanjo, the Rivers State Governor, Amaechi interjected, asking “where did you get that?” Aliyu on his part said he was not aware of it.
After meeting with Obasanjo, the governors headed for Lagos where they met with Shonekan and Danjuma at their Ikoyi and Victoria Island residences respectively.
Their first port of call was the home of Shonekan, where they arrived at about 3:40 pm in the same BMW Sports Utility Vehicle, which was driven by Amaechi with the other governors seated inside.
They were escorted by a small band of security aides into Shonekan’s expansive Ikoyi residence at about 3:40pm. The meeting lasted  about one hour and 10 minutes.
Amaechi and Shonekan addressed reporters after the parley.
On why the group met with Shonekan, the Rivers State Governor said: “We are consulting with the elders across the country on the issues that affect the party and the nation in general. We are talking about the ills in the country.”
The governor, however, stated that the planned meeting with the leadership of the APC, which was initially scheduled for yesterday will now hold today.
On the discussion with President Goodluck Jonathan on the state of the PDP, Amaechi said: “We are waiting for him to call for the next meeting.”
Commenting on the visit, Shonekan thanked his guests and sued for cooperation among political elite in the country as a way of pulling the nation out of the current doldrums it has found itself.
“God has given us all the things needed for growth and progress. We must try as much as possible to cooperate with one another, to make sure that the country becomes the envy of all.” Shonekan said.
He, however, maintained that he might offer himself in the efforts to reconcile the warring members of the PDP, saying “I will consult with relevant people.”
A similar scenario played out at the Victoria Island residence of General Danjuma where they met with him for about one and half hours to discuss the same issue.
They were quickly ushered into the private living room of the former army boss where they met for some time only to emerge at exactly 6pm and proceeded straight to their vehicle.
Police now PDP armed wing— Opposition govs
Meanwhile, opposition governors, yesterday, carpeted the Nigeria Police, for invading the  Kano State Governor’s Lodge, Abuja, where members of the G7 governors were meeting.
In a statement  by the Director General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Salihu Lukman,  the governors described the police action as primitive, tyrannical and unbecoming in a democratic system, particularly as it was the second of such despicable and brutal act to be visited on the governors in a week.
The PGF expressed shock and disgust that the police had become the official armed wing of the PDP,  allegedly working against the rest of non-PDP Nigerians.
The governors said: “The police action is not only alarming but also demonstrates clearly that the force, instead of carrying out its constitutional responsibilities of maintaining peace and order in the society has become no more than the armed wing of the ruling PDP.
“Coming barely a week after storming the Adamawa State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja to disrupt a lawful meeting of like-minded individuals, and despite public outcry at the tactics of the police, the Force, in clear violation of all rules of civility still went ahead to disrupt a G7 caucus meeting at the Kano State Governor’s Lodge on the November 3, 2013, in Asokoro, Abuja.
“If the Nigeria Police Force has not become the armed wing of the PDP, why should the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Asokoro Police Unit, CSP Nnanna Ama, burst into the venue and ordered the meeting stopped, threatening to mobilize troops to abort it if his order was not obeyed?
“For a DPO to have the impudence to force his way into the meeting of perceived opponents of President Goodluck Jonathan to disrupt a meeting of governors and members of the Senate and the House of Representatives that were duly elected by Nigerians, and also threatened them with arrest can only indicate that the orders must have come from the Presidency.”
While saluting the G7governors for their resilience, tenacity and commitment to their democratic ideals, the PGF asked them to continue with their patriotic fight to rescue Nigeria from the grip of a tiny clique that had cornered the political space in the country and now regards the rights and commonwealth of Nigerians as disposable in their desperation to continue in office despite growing unrest in the polity occasioned by PDP’s politics of poverty and exclusion.
“We wish to emphatically restate our resolve to join hands and work with our colleagues in G7 and nPDP to ensure that the current regressive trend towards authoritarianism, increasing poverty, unemployment and incompetent leadership is arrested,” they said.
Chartered aircraft grounded in Abuja
Also, yesterday, a chattered aircraft meant to convey some members of the National Assembly of Rivers State origin to Port Harcourt for a state event was grounded on ‘orders from above.’
The members consisting of two senators and 10 members of the House of Representatives were travelling in solidarity with Governor Amaechi over the visit of APC leaders.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, two of the affected lawmakers, Senator Magnus Abe (Rivers South East) and Hon. Ogbonna Nwuke representing Omumu/Etche Federal Constituency said the owners of the aircraft suddenly acted on orders from ‘ the top’ not to fly the aircraft.
The members who are loyalists of Abubakar Baraje- led new Peoples Democratic Party, nPDP described the development as embarrassing and politically motivated.
Nwuke, who was the first to speak said the name of the chartered aircraft was Manga.
“A couple of members of the House of Representatives and Senators who are from RiversState traveling to Port Harcourt this morning got a shock of their life. An aircraft (Manga) that we had chartered to take us to Port Harcourt was suddenly grounded and we feel it is politically motivated because the APC people were supposed to come to Rivers and some of us, in the sense of accommodation decided to go listen to what they are going to say. So, the aircraft that was supposed to take some senators and members to RiversState was suddenly grounded by some orders from above. We are beginning to wonder why all of this is happening in the country that was supposed to be in a democracy.
“The aircraft owners said they have orders from above not to fly anywhere. We had wanted to get in there as quickly as we can and join our governor in receiving visitors who are coming. I think that what is going on now has become increasingly undemocratic and increasingly very embarrassing. Freedom of expression, movement is under attack. I don’t think we should encourage a return to the days of the military when people embarked on unilateral action just like that.”
Lending his voice also, Senator Abe corroborated Nwuke’s position, saying that the incident amounted to act of impunity.
He said: “In fact, we had arranged an aircraft to take us from Abuja to Port Harcourt to enable us join others Rivers people to receive the visiting delegation of Nigerians that are coming to visit the governor today and we received information that the owners of the aircraft had called to say that they had instructions from above not to carry off. So, we are stranded here at the Airport, struggling to make other arrangements.
“I think what has happened, my fear is that this country may be worse than a Banana Republic if we don’t do something. Because the people who now think that the laws of Nigeria exist only for them to use it to further what personal purposes they may have is not for the benefit of all Nigerians equally and that is always a dangerous signal in a democracy.
Senator Abe also said he had lodged a complaint with Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodinma.
“I have called Senator Hope Uzodinma who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, he said he will look into it”, Abe said.
Abe said the development had affinity with their involvement in the new PDP.
“Of course, it is the reason and people fail to understand that the constitution of this country guarantees freedom of movement, guarantees freedom of association and that people are free to talk to one another. And I have said before and want to repeat it here that if we are  talking of a national dialogue, you cannot talk of a national dialogue in an atmosphere of intimation.”

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