Why PDP Governors Prostrate For Obasanjo Onbehalf of Jonathan

 

More than seven Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors yesterday arrived the Abeokuta, Ogun State, hilltop residence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to persuade him to work for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan in next year’s presidential election.

Two of the governors, Liyel Imoke of Cross River State and Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, arrived Obasanjo’s residence at 12.55 p.m. and swiftly moved into the house without any banters with journalists who were there.

A close aide of Obasanjo confirmed that all the governors were from the PDP and that they came to persuade Obasanjo not to abandon the party at this crucial moment when his support is highly needed.
The aide also confirmed that Obasanjo was aware of their coming as he had earlier held a meeting with some of his associates on the visit of the PDP governors.

“Throughout last night Baba Obasanjo met with us to discuss the visit by the PDP governors and the position to take. Baba pointedly told us that he remains a staunch member of PDP and that he was not fighting anybody but cannot accept an indicted fellow to be his leader,”

It was also gathered that the main purpose of the governors’ visit was to persuade Obasanjo to throw his weight behind the re-election of President Jonathan in 2015 and stop giving tacit support to the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, in its quest to dislodge the ruling parrty from the centre.

The five PDP governors, Dr. Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) and Issa Yuguda (Bauchi), met behind closed-doors with Obasanjo inside his Presidential Hilltop mansion.

Obasanjo has, however, said despite the myriad of problems confronting the country, the situation was still redeemable.

The former president has also cleared the air on his recent comments on the state of the nation, saying his outbursts were not aimed at rubbishing or pulling down the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration.

The PDP governors arrived at Obasanjo’s Abeokuta mansion at about 12.22 p.m and left at about 2.50 p.m.

Our correspondent gathered that the discussions between the five PDP governors centred on the situation within the PDP and the 2015 general elections.

The governors were also said to have impressed it upon the former president why it had become imperative for him to throw his weight behind the party and President Jonathan in the 2015 elections.

Briefing newsmen at the end of their over two-hour meeting, Obasanjo told newsmen that the PDP governors visited him to discuss the state of the nation.

He stressed that the current situation in the country was not “irretrievably bad,” adding that what was required to tackle it was the will and courage of those holding the reins of governance.

Obasanjo, however, stated that his recent comments on the situation in the country were not targeted at running down the government of the day. He said his outbursts were out of “genuine concern” for the country.

He also stressed that solving the nation’s problems required the efforts and contributions of all citizens.

He said: “They (governors) have decided to pay me a special visit. They were concerned about what you may call the situation of the nation, security, economy and we discussed these issues. In fact, most of them, I have raised in my own public pronouncements in recent times; not to castigate anybody, not to bad-mouth anybody, not to run anybody down, but out of genuine concern for the situation of the country and that is the same thing that has brought them. And we looked at these issues very closely, very objectively and we came to the conclusion that yes, we have a bad situation but it is not irretrievably bad. Something can still be done and now what it required is the will and the courage to do something when and how it needs to be done. We agreed on that and we also agreed that yes, I appreciate their coming to me because of the respect and the honour they have for me. But this task is not a task for one man; it is not even a task for one group. It is a task which requires all hands on deck.”

Also speaking, Governor Akpabio said he and his colleagues deemed it fit to consult with Obasanjo as a former president on the nation’s problems.

He said Nigerians were determined to reposition the country, adding that in spite of the challenges, the people must work together to redeem the situation.

Governor Aliyu, however, said the governors benefitted “tremendously” from their consultation with Obasanjo.

He said the problems of the country were beyond partisan politics, urging Nigerians to come together to put the country on the right footing.

Gistmania and The Sun