PDP magic as Five Governors Meet Jonathan,
Demands Tukur’s Removal as a Condition for Peace
Five northern governors: Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Rabiu
Kwankwaso (Kano), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Aliyu
Wamakko (Sokoto), and Muritala Nyako (Adamawa),
all from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP yesterday met with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Aso
Rock Villa, Abuja and gave the president conditions
that must be met for peace to return to the party. The meeting which sources described as private was
brokered by Senate President David Mark at the
instance of President Jonathan who is desirous of
ending the raging crises in the Peoples’ Democratic
Party (PDP) and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF),
so as to put him in good footing for his 2015 presidential ambition.
Although, details of the meeting was unclear as at
press time, It was gathered that issues bordering on
the recent moves by the five northern governors
which saw them visiting former Nigerian leaders as
well as their Rivers State counterpart, Rotimi Amaechi, over what they called “efforts to save the ruling party
and democracy” dominated the session. Abusidiqu.com was made to understand that the five
governors insisted on the removal of the PDP
National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, as their
condition to be at peace with the party and the
Presidency. According to one of the sources, the governors
maintained that “Tukur is the problem and should
leave for peace to return to the ruling party,” adding
that the governors assured the president that they
would not leave the PDP for another party. It could however not be established last night
whether President Jonathan accepted the governors’
demand, but he reportedly assured the governors
that he was aware of their face-off with some
influential people close to him and the PDP and was
poised to address them in the interest of the party and the country. The visit of the governors to President Goodluck is
coming few days after a similar visit to former
President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta. The governors after meeting with Obasanjo also
extended a similar visit two former military leaders,
Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abdusalami
Abubakar in Minna, the Niger State capital. It had been speculated that the separate meetings
the governors had with the former leaders were a
means to douse the tension in the Nation.