Rotimi Akinwunmi, Snr. Correspondent, Abuja

Not wanting to take chances or ignore the formidable forces arrayed against him within and outside his ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the build up to the rescheduled general elections, President Goodluck Jonathan, on Friday night met stakeholders of the party.

The object of the meeting was how to maximise the opportunity offered by the new poll’s date, March 28, 2015, to swing more support and votes for the second term ambition of the President.

According to Dino Melaye, former member of the House of Representatives, who first broke the news in his official tweeter handle (@dino_melaye), the meeting was attended by PDP governors, members of the party’s National Executive Committee and some key persons, including Tony Anenih, chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and Edwin Clarke, a party leader.

“The President who spoke after lengthy discussions by participants at the meeting chaired by PDP National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu, thanked those present particularly the governors and NEC members, assuring them of his total support.

“He appealed to the governors to stave off the impending loss at the poll and called for collaboration to ensure victory at the polls.

“We must work hard to save the party and all our contestants. It is true, the report out there is call for great concern and this is why we must use the new window in the poll shift to talk to Nigerians, woo them and even beg them where necessary,” Melaye said.

Also speaking, Chief Anenih begged the gathering to put more efforts in their various states to ensure victory in the coming election. For him: “It is either we win or perish together.”

Melaye also revealed that Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, blamed the conspiracy by some unnamed elements, in reply to an otherwise rhetorical question by Clark as to why the President is seemly unacceptable despite all his laudable achievements.

“Please my people I beg you, this election is a must win for our president and all of us,” Chief Clark was quoted as saying.

The meeting was attended by all governors under the party’s platform, except Isa Yuguda and Sule Lamido Bauchi and Jigawa states respectively, who were also not represented.

At the meeting, which held at the First Lady’s Conference Hall in the Presidential Villa, ending minutes after 6 a.m. on Saturday, Mu’azu was said to have lamented the way inter-party wrangling had been allowed to degenerate to the point where five governors dumped the PDP at the same time.

The governors are Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) who was subsequently impeached; Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers State); Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano); and Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto).

They were part of the group called G7 Governors in the aftermath of the elections of the now splinter Nigerian Governors Forum, dumped the party first for the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), before moving to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the nation’s main opposition party. The other two: Dr. Babangida Aliyu and Lamido of Niger and Jigawa respectively, however, chose to stay back in the PDP at the last moment.

As the meeting progressed, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State was said to have announced a Presidential approval for the distribution of N20 billion among some state governors, just as key swing states like Kano, Lagos, Rivers and Kaduna would get N2 billion to woo voters.



Another “N2 billion was also set aside to buy some political and public analysts to talk more about Mr. President and his achievements over the last six years. Some TV stations such as AIT and Channels would do the job,” he added.

Those at the meeting, Melaye continued, were particular pained by the exit of the governors of Rivers and Kano, which were PDP strongholds before now.

It was further learnt that there was a mild drama at the point when the party chairman tactically blamed the First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, for allowing matters to degenerate to the point where the problem she had with Amaechi snowballed into his leaving the PDP. The intervention of Clark was said to have saved the situation from going worse.

The party’s chairman was also said to have taken a hard look at the build-up to the election and cautioned Femi Fani-Kayode, Director, Media and Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, who was also at the meeting, and Olisa Metuh, Publicity Secretary of the party.

Melaye said both men were told that their propaganda activities seem to be having a backlash and rather making the APC candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari more popularly rather than the contrary.

“Instead of the current situation, he called for more issue based campaigns rather than attacking Buhari’s people as most of the campaign materials already churned out have done, if the PDP must get good support from the ordinary northerner.

“The meeting agreed to reduce negative adverts on Buhari, but Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti and his counterpart from Ondo saw it differently,” he noted.

Calls by Daily Independent to the phone numbers of Metuh, the PDP spokesman, did not connect, just as short messages to his phones were not replied as at press time.

When contacted on telephone, Fani-Kayode who neither confirmed nor denied that the meeting actually held promised to return a call to him. When he did, he said it was not true. “No meeting of such took place,” he said.

In a phone interview with our correspondent on Sunday evening, Anenih, who allegedly arrived the meeting venue in company of Clarke, denied knowledge of such a meeting, talk more of being in attendance.

He told Daily Independent from his Abuja base: “I am not aware of such meeting. I have been in Benin and just landed in Abuja.

Chief Anenih: “When was the meeting held?

Daily Independent: “Between Friday night and very early Saturday morning, Sir.

Chief Anenih: “I have been in Benin (City), I just arrived Abuja… Why not call Mu’azu…”

But another source told one of our correspondents that the meeting indeed held and that members of the PDP National Executive Committee moved from the party’s Wadata Plaza secretariat in Abuja, where they held a meeting to the Presidential Villa that Friday night.

http://dailyindependentnig.com/2015/02/save-defeat-jonathan-begs-pdp-govs/

IRO NLA...

Hmmmm

lies always a source

Another APC NL robot programmed to hit likes on every sai buhari post.

Person wey neva reach 2 months here, but him don create 42 topics and 964 posts against GEJ.

Troll.

*sighs*

No mercy for GEJ.....no one is saving you this time around. You came on ur own, you shall fail on ur own.

So many people go drink otapiapia when INEC go announce result next month oh....

CAN'T BE SAVED!

you will not write another lies like this ;
this is your last on NL

Spilled Milk.

GEJ must fear cos he achieved nothing. GMB 2015

its not all about the money anymore ...we need Change

dunkem21:
Another APC NL robot programmed to hit likes on every sai buhari post.

Person wey neva reach 2 months here, but him don create 42 topics and 964 posts against GEJ.

Troll.

LOL. Bro, I no be robot o. No be my fault say people no like GEJ as much as you do. And no be my fault say my GEJ-related threads dey get following like this. Bottom line is GEJ is going down, baby. Deal with it, hommie.

GEJ drank the water of defeat the day he approved of the Fuel Subsidy Scam.

Now, let those that pushed you into your grave while still living [Edwin Clark & Co.] save you.

Gej Gej Gej. Hmmm God de o



We still marching 4 buhari

WisdomFlakes:


LOL. Bro, I no be robot o. No be my fault say people no like GEJ as much as you do. And no be my fault say my GEJ-related threads dey get following like this. Bottom line is GEJ is going down, baby. Deal with it, hommie.

OK. What's your real moniker cos this one is an alternate one?

..Or you just registered because of the botched February elections?

And who are Nigerians gonna beg to save them?? Thor

Jonathan can beg all he wants and get all the endorsements he can ask for, we will go to the polls with our verdict in our hands and send him and his goombahs where they ought to be.

dunkem21:


OK. What's your real moniker cos this one is an alternate one?

..Or you just registered because of the botched February elections?

Bro, are you ok I joined January 10th 2015. You can cross-check that for yourself, punnk as$! You must live in a bubble where everyone you know & talk to loves and supports Jonathan, coz in the REAL WORLD he's toast, and you can stick a fork in him coz he's DONE .

GEJ has failed. We gave him a chance, he blew it. Nigerians will take no more of his reign of failure, denial and excuses.

GEJ realises it.
PDP realises it.
GEJ supporters realise it. You can tell from their comments, that their confidence and arrogance has disappeared, and they can't hide this, much as they try.

Nigeria's deliverance is here. It may or may not be peaceful, although I beg God that it is peaceful.

But one thing is for sure - to all who can see the handwriting on the wall - change is coming to Nigeria, and GEJ won't have a say in it.

hmmm hope dis is true., APC and propaganda are like rice and beans

Taylor86:
hmmm hope dis is true., APC and propaganda are like rice and beans

FYI: Daily Independent newspaper is a FG-leaning outfit.

GEJ should just relax coz there's life after Aso Rock. He should stop embarrassing himself, going to churches kneeling, begging and pleading for prayers, begging governors, members of parliament, etc, all in a bid to return to office. He's just too desperate.

The way Oga Jona is sharing money ehn! Am sure that before March 28, our external reserve account would be reading $0.

Mods, Front page.

WisdomFlakes:


FYI: Daily Independent newspaper is a FG-leaning outfit.

GEJ should just relax coz there's life after Aso Rock. He should stop embarrassing himself, going to churches kneeling, begging and pleading for prayers, begging governors, members of parliament, etc, all in a bid to return to office. He's just too desperate.

Daily independent fg Leaning?? Since when?

Since when did an Atiku-controlled paper become fg leaning?

Blvd way, did you see the source of this thrash STORY-DINO MCLANE.

Only a complete idioot would believe this

I'm always sad when I see people comment and say GEJ didn't do anything like some posters above. I still think that despite the administration's shortcomings, it still achieved far more than other administrations.
Most just hate GEJ because he's 'GEJ'. Some hate him for his looks, his profession, his ethnicity, his outfit, his wife etc.
Nigeria will get better when Nigerians decide to work together. The day I watched Obama's state of the union speech to congress filled with the opposition party, I marveled at how the Americans are willing to work together to better the country irrespective of political affiliations; instead of using the administration's shortcomings to smear the image of Obama.

FYI, the thread title is misleading because I didn't see where he begged people to save him from defeat. Still, he has my vote.

taharqa:


Daily independent fg Leaning?? Since when?

Since when did an Atiku-controlled paper become fg leaning?

Blvd way, did you see the source of this thrash STORY-DINO MCLANE.

Only a complete idioot would believe this

Oh, so now it's Atiku-leaning? I thought you all said Atiku was disgruntled with the APC and is on his way back to the PDP fold? You PDP People are one confused bunch.

DaGC:
I'm always sad when I see people comment and say GEJ didn't do anything like some posters above. I still think that despite the administration's shortcomings, it still achieved far more than other administrations.
Most just hate GEJ because he's 'GEJ'. Some hate him for his looks, his profession, his ethnicity, his outfit, his wife etc.
Nigeria will get better when Nigerians decide to work together. The day I watched Obama's state of the union speech to congress filled with the opposition party, I marveled at how the Americans are willing to work together to better the country irrespective of political affiliations; instead of using the administration's shortcomings to smear the image of Obama.

FYI, the thread title is misleading because I didn't see where he begged people to save him from defeat. Still, he has my vote.

Abegi, story for the gods. You are a hypocrite. Most of you GEJ Supporters are the real Haters who despise GMB coz of his accent, his Fulani background, his religion, certificate, and other stupid and childish shyyt. Yet you turn around and try to play the victim??

You lot are swearing all over about how you will ensure that Buhari never governs this country again even if he wins fairly and squarely. Hypocrite!

You must think we are fools.

WisdomFlakes:


Abegi, story for the gods. You are a hypocrite. Most of you GEJ Supporters are the real Haters who despise GMB coz of his accent, his Fulani background, his religion, certificate, and other stupid and childish shyyt. Yet you turn around and try to play the victim??

You lot are swearing all over about how you will ensure that Buhari never governs this country again even if he wins fairly and squarely. Hypocrite!

You must think we are fools.

Done?

WisdomFlakes:


Abegi, story for the gods. You are a hypocrite. Most of you GEJ Supporters are the real Haters who despise GMB coz of his accent, his Fulani background, his religion, certificate, and other stupid and childish shyyt. Yet you turn around and try to play the victim??

You lot are swearing all over about how you will ensure that Buhari never governs this country again even if he wins fairly and squarely. Hypocrite!

You must think we are fools.

Don't mind the ediots

DaGC:



Done?

Hell no. You bring it on. I've got enough ammo to shoot down your bullshhyt.