Nyako, Aliyu, Kwankwaso, Yobe, Borno Govs In Attendance
Five Northern governors were in Presidential Villa Abuja on Saturday to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan behind closed doors.
In the meeting, which was not officially listed on the president’s itinerary for the weekend, were Governors Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe) and Kashim Shettima (Borno).
Though no official statement was issued a the end of the meeting as of the time of writing this report, the meeting, it was gathered, must have bearing with development in the North and country.
Five northern governors, including Governor Aliyu Wammako of Sokoto State, especially those elected under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had earlier met with former Nigerian leaders: former President Olusegun Obasanjo; Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar over the happenings in the PDP.
They had also previously met with Governor Rotimi Amaechi in Port Harcourt ostensibly over the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State.
Following the meeting with the former leaders, Governor Nyako was reported to have boasted that the northern PDP governors were moving around the country, holding consultations on ways to salvage or bury the ruling PDP.
This prompted a call by the National Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Bamangs Tukur, on the Adamawa State governor to quit the PDP if he so desired as the action of the governors could not bury it.
However, Presidency source told Sunday Tribune that the inclusion of Governors Geidam and Shettima elected under the opposition All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) in the team that met with Jonathan on Saturday showed that the discussion between them and the president was beyond PDP affairs and could have connection with the North and other issues affecting the relationship of the president and other governors.
When contacted, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said he could not volunteer any information on the meeting, saying it was a private discussion among members of the same family. “No Presidency staff was allowed into the meeting, not even the Chief of Staff, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe,. It was a meeting held at their own level,” he told Sunday Tribune.
