PDP crisis: Jonathan, party leadership meeting with aggrieved governors adjourned to Tuesday
President Goodluck Jonathan and the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will on Tuesday continue their meeting with all the aggrieved governors in other to address their grievances and resolved the numerous crisis that has engulfed the party in recent times.
The aggrieved governors are Alhaji Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Alhaji Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Dr. Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Rotimi Amechi (Rivers).
The party’s Board of Trustee Chairman, Tony Anenih at the end of the meeting which commenced at 9.27 p.m. Sunday night and end at 2 a.m the early hours of Monday, flanked by President Jonathan on the right and Rabiu Kwakwanso of Kano on the left with other governors behind them, read a communique, announcing the continuation of the meeting.
According to Anenih, “This evening Mr. President, the leadership of the party and the PDP governors met today to discuss the incident that occurred during the PDP special convention on the 31st of August 2013, whereby some state delegations walked out of the convention ground to announced a faction of the party.
“The meeting was smooth and encouraging and the discussions will continue on Tuesday with all the aggrieved governors in attendance”.
President Jonathan had on Sunday held two separate meetings with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and 16 governors of the PDP, a day after a splinter group had emerged.
President Jonathan had first met behind closed doors with Chief Obasanjo for close to two hours in his private residence in the presidential villa Abuja and then the governors including four of the seven that formed the splinter group called the “New PDP”. The governors present in the Monday night/Tuesday morning meeting were Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, Rabiu Kwakanso of Kano State, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa and Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State.
It would be recalled that the G7 and the founding chairman of the ‘New PDP’ Alhaji Atiku Abubakar had walked out of the PDP special congress in Abuja on Saturday who consequently announced the composition of the PDP.
The meeting consided with the visit of the President of Benin Republic, Boni Yayi.
President Jonathan had on Saturday said that doom's day prophesy about the PDP breaking up before 2015 general elections will be disappointed, noting that it was the only party that has retained its identity, logo, slogan and has not fused into other parties.
The emergence of a splinter group led by Atiku came immediately after Jonathan's speech.Z
The splinter group, which calls itself the 'New PDP,' include seven governors who had allegedly formed a new political party and are seeking registration with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under the name of Voice of the People (VOP).
In the group are prominent members of the newly-registered Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), also led by Atiku.