Obasanjo, Anenih Meet ‘Rebel’ PDP Governors

Chairman, board of trustees (BoT) of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih is billed to meet Friday morning with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the six governors who last weekend stormed out of the party’s national convention.

The governors expected at Friday’s meeting include chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, Governors Rabi’u Musa Kwakwanso, Sule Lamido, and Aliyu Wamakko of Kano, Jigawa and Sokoto states respectively.

Other governors invited for the meeting are Chibuike Amaechi, Murtala Nyako, Abdulfatai Ahmed of Rivers, Adamawa and Kwara states respectively. The venue is Abuja.

Pointblanknews.com gathered that the meeting was a follow-up to the chains of meeting reconciliation meetings preceding last weekend’s walk-out by the governors.

Anenih, it was gathered, was unhappy with the crack in the party, and was particularly miffed by follow-up threats by national chairman Bamanga Tukur to “deal with” the splinter group.

The BoT chairman, who is said to be well respected by the northern governors, reportedly got the nod of President Goodluck Jonathan to mediate in the crisis.

Jonathan is off to Kenya for a three-day official visit.

A top PDP source told Pointblanknews.com that Anenih was hoping to exploit his long-standing relationship with Lamido to reach out to the other aggrieved governors.

“Leader (Anenih) is very well respected, not only by Lamido, but by all the northern governors. Don’t forget that he was national chairman of the (defunct) Social Democratic Party (SDP) when Lamido was its national secretary.

“This father-son relationship that has spanned over two decades has positively impacted on Leader’s relationship with the other governors. And considering that the same Lamido is Obasanjo’s protege, a truce would not be too difficult to reach,” offered the party chieftain.

Anenih had reportedly unsettled some PDP leaders with comments that some issues raised by the protesting governors deserved consideration.

The BoT chairman, sources offered, was also meeting with other aggrieved aspirants who were either shut out or short-changed in last weekend’s special national convention.