PDP rebel governors consult Obasanjo over party crisis

By The Citizen

Five of the seven dissenting governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo  in Abeokuta, Ogun State, barely 13 hours after policemen from the Asokoro Area Command in Abuja   briefly disrupted the governors' parley at the Kano State Governor's Lodge.

The governors that met with Obasanjo were  Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); Babangida Aliyu (Niger); Rabiu   Kwakwanso (Kano); Sule Lamido (Jigawa); and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa).

Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed  of  Kwara State and  his Sokoto State counterpart, Aliyu Wammako,  were however absent.

Journalists were barred from  the Hilltop residence of the ex-President where  the   meeting, which is a continuation of the rebel governors' consultations on  how to end their disagreements with President Goodluck Jonathan and the Bamanga Tukur-led PDP, was held.

They had previously met with Obasanjo who chairs the PDP Elders Committee which is trying to reconcile   the parties  . They also had talks with former Heads of State, Generals Abdusalami Abubakar and Ibrahim Babangida.

It was   gathered that the rebel governors  updated the former President on the latest developments in their efforts to end the face-off with  Jonathan and the PDP leadership.

At about 1:50pm,  Amaechi drove the other governors in an unmarked black BMW jeep out of the expansive mansion in a convoy of other vehicles.

Earlier, the Rivers State  governor had interrupted  Aliyu, who  was  addressing  journalists  on their  Abeokuta mission .

The journalists had asked Aliyu if they came to inform Obasanjo about their alleged decision to leave the PDP.

Amaechi,   in response to the question, asked, 'Who told you  that?'

But Aliyu  continued , saying  'I don't know about that. It's just a speculation.'

He added that their meeting with Obasanjo was part of their consultations with the elders of the party.

Aliyu however expressed hope that the disagreements  between them and the President would soon be resolved.

He added  that they  had been having discussions with   Jonathan on the current face-off.

The governor said, 'You may recall that when issues started, we consulted our elders, so this is part of the consultation;  more so that we are coming to the resolution of the matter .

'We've been discussing with the President about these issues  and we believe after the lull caused  by  the pilgrimage to Mecca, we will  continue from where we stopped.  So,  we needed to consult again to find out if there is any variable that has intervened and we are very happy things are going normal.'

It was further learnt that the governors had scheduled separate meetings with other former Heads of State, including  Gen. Yakubu Gowon . - Punch.