Drama At Council Of State Meting At Presidential Villa

                                      

There was drama Tuesday at the Presidential Villa, venue of the Council of State meeting as Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako warned his Abia counterpart, Governor Theodore Orji not to poison him.

Below was what transpired between the duo:

Nyako to Orji: I am telling you, don't poison me here. I am not comfortable with you here. If anything happens to me here, walahi, my people will take you to court.

Orji to Nyako: For how many years have we been sitting together? Is it this zero hour that I would poison you?

Nyako: Who knows?

Nyako to Martins Elechi: I am just warning him not to poison me. Is there any law that says we should sit down together?

Meanwhile, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Head of State General Muhammadu Buhari were absent at Tuesday’s   meeting which was convened by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The meeting  which held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, commenced at 10.45am.

Governors who were absent were  Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Adams Oshiomole (Edo), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (Kano) and Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo)

Those that  attended the meeting included former Head of States Yakubu Gowon, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, Abdulsalam Abubakar and former Head of the National Interim Government Earnest Shonekan,

Senate President David Mark, House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal.

Governors present at the meeting were  those of Osun, and Kaduna, Lagos Ebonyi, Enugu, Cross River, Imo, Sokoto, Gombe, Cross River, Niger, Jigawa, Ekiti, Kaduna, Taraba, Jigawa, Ogun, Niger, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Nasarawa, Kano deputy governor, among others.

 Meanwhile , the Council of State on Tuesday endorsed the proposed national conference and assured maximum support to ensure its success.

Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo disclosed this to State House correspondents after the council’s meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa.
Fielding questions from newsmen after the meeting, which lasted about six hours, Okorocha said the council commended Jonathan for initiating the confab.
He said Imo State would send delegates to the conference in spite of the fact that his party, the APC, was yet to take a position on sending delegates to it.
We discussed national conference which we see as a welcome development. The Conference is a good development. Discussions were not along party lines.
The governor said the council admonished politicians to guard against provocative utterances that could tear the country apart ahead of the 2015 general elections.
“We have to adopt some new strategies on how to move the nation forward. Politicians have been warned against unguarded utterances so as not to heat up the polity.
“The meeting has helped to resolve a lot of issues, adding that the meeting also adopted some new strategies for tackling security issues in the country.
“On centenary, we said Nigeria must stay together as a nation,” he said.
Gov. Gabriel Suswam of Benue said the President presented a list of the new Chairman and members for the National Population Commission to the council for approval.
“The National Security Adviser briefed us on the general security situation in the country and all members of the council contributed to how to move the nation forward.
“Decisions were taken to address some of the security issues that are affecting the country.
“The council took note and agreed that people should be more careful about what they say as public office holders,” he said.
The former Heads of State, Yakubu Gowon, Ibrahim Babangida, Abdusalami Abubakar, former President Shehu Shagari and former Head of Interim Government, Ernest Shonekan, attended the meeting.
Vice President Namadi Sambo, Senate President David Mark, Speaker of House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwa and Secretary to Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim also attended.
Retired Chief Justices of Nigeria, Mohammed Uwais, Alfa Belgore, Legbo Kutigi and Dahiru Musdapher were also present.
Twenty state governors attended the meeting while others were represented by their deputies.

By Jaiyeola Andrews and NAN