by ‘Jola Sotubo

 

The battle tearing apart the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) has been raging for a while now and the situation has led to a visit by members of the newly created faction to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Chief Obasanjo, who was formerly the party’s Board of Trustees chairman, received the “New PDP’ members, comprising 5 of the 7 member governors of the Baraje-led faction, in his home in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

The meeting was attended by Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers State), Babangida Aliyu(Niger), Murtala Nyako(Adamawa), Sule Lamido(Jigawa) and Rabiu Kwankwaso(Kano) while the 2 other governors could not make it.

The Nation Newspaper reports:

It was not clear what they discussed. When the governors emerged from the mansion at 1:50pm, reporters pushed towards Amaechi for an insight into their mission, but he declined, saying his Niger State counterpart should talk for the group.

Amaechi, who drove himself in a black Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) with Lamido sitting on the passenger’s seat, said the others would stand beside Babangida while speaking to the press.

According to Aliyu, they were in Obasanjo’s home in continuation of their earlier consultations with PDP elders over matters affecting the party.

Aliyu, who hinted that the G7-Governors had been “discussing with the President”(Dr Goodluck Jonathan), said the new move was to ascertain if there had been any change in the party.

Aliyu said: “You may recall that when (the) issues started, we consulted our elders. So, this is part of the consultation; more so that we are coming to the resolution of the matters. We believe that very soon, we’ve been discussing with the President, discussing about these matters.

“We believe after the lull of the pilgrimages, we are all back; so, we need to consult again to find out if there is any variable that has intervened and we are very happy things are going normal.”

Told that people were speculating that the G7-Governors came to say goodbye to the ex-president, he said: “I don’t know about that. It’s just speculation.”

The governors also met with former Head of the Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan and former Minister for Defence, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma in Lagos.

They met the duo yesterday at their houses in Ikoyi and on Victoria Island to “consult with them on the lingering crisis in the party”.

Shonekan urged politicians to eschew bitternes as a way to pull the nation out of the wood.

The governors arrived at Shonekan’s house at about 3:40 pm in a BMW Sports Utility Vehicle.

Amaechi drove the car. Other governors sat inside. Security aides followed in other cars.

The meeting with Shonekan lasted for about an hour after which Amaechi said: “We are consulting with the elders across the country on the issues that affect the party and the nation in general. We are talking about the ills in the country.”

The governor said his planned meeting with the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), initially scheduled for yesterday would hold today.

Shonekan told the governors: “God has given us all the things needed for growth and progress. We must try as much as possible to cooperate with one another, to make sure that the country becomes the envy of all.”

He said he offered himself to assist in reconciling the warring politicians. The governors met with Gen. Danjuma in Victoria Island for one hour as well.