2015 PRESIDENCY: nPDP drops demand for Jonathan to go

Photo NDA—From left: Governor Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna State, welcoming President Goodluck Jonathan and President Alassane Ouattara of Cote D’ivoire at the Kaduna Airport for the Nigerian Defence Academy convocation, weekend

ABUJA – As the meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan and the aggrieved G-7 governors and other leaders of the Abubakar Kawu Baraje faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, got underway last night to resolve the crisis in the party, there were indications that the nPDP may have adjusted its earlier demand that President Goodluck Jonathan should not seek a second term in office. This came as the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has appealed to leaders of the new PDP to embrace dialogue saying the problem can be resolved in a family way.
e governors who were present at the meeting with President Jonathan which began at about 3.30 pm at the first Lady’s conference room,  yesterday, were Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Abdulfattah Ahmed (Kwara) Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe), Liyel Imoke (Cross River) and Idris Wada (Kogi). As usual, the meeting which was earlier scheduled for the presidential villa at 9.00pm Sunday was closed to journalists.
 Sources among the governors at the meeting disclosed at the weekend that in the place of the earlier demand that President Jonathan should not seek re-election,  the nPDP was last night set to demand that he gives practical and irrevocable evidence of allowing due process in the nomination process for the party’s 2015 presidential candidate. Top of the evidence, it was learnt, is the sack of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as national chairman and restoration of party executives in Adamawa and Rivers states.

“This is not about 2015, but we want the president to provide clear guarantees that due process would be allowed to prevail in the party in all matters relating to the party and also the presidential contest,” one of the governors in the forefront of the nPDP told Vanguard.

Another source close to one of the nPDP governors disclosed that the governors were to be informed by the president whether or not he would contest in 2015.