The crisis rocking the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) deepened yesterday with opposition governors and anti-Amaechi group sticking to their positions 48 hours after a controversial election that split the 36 governors’ camp.
Relying on the NGF’s constitution, Anambra State Governor Peter Obi said it does not make room for re-election of a sitting chairman.
Rivers State Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi was re-elected NGF chairman by 19 governors in the election that was held in Abuja last Friday. Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang is recognized by 16 governors as the new boss of the influential body. The anti-Amaechi governors claimed there was no election but the NGF’s Director-General, Mr. Ashishama Okauru, disagreed, saying Amaechi won the election even as Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi was sad over the controversy trailing an exercise which he described as free and fair.
Reacting to the development, Governor Peter Obi said that the re-election of a sitting chairman has no place in the NGF’s constitution. A chairman, he noted, could only serve a single, non-renewable term.
Speaking to Daily Sun in Abuja yesterday, Gov. Obi said the NGF which was modeled after American Governors’ Forum constitution, prescribes only a single two-year term for a sitting chairman with no proviso for re-election.
Gov. Obi revealed that the amended constitution which Gov. Amaechi relied on to run in the controversial election was not only doctored, but was never ratified by the larger body of governors.
He claimed that Amaechi’s re-election could not stand because he was not the consensus choice of the body.
“Four out of the five governors in the South-East said Gov. Jang is their choice; five out of the six governors in the South-South recognise Jang as their chairman; in the North, it is the same thing, so what are we talking about? This is a body of equal partners, a voluntary group, and there has never been a time we had election. It had always been by consensus. They doctored the constitution which was never even ratified.”
Excerpts:
What is your view on the contentious NGF election?
First, let me say that in the history of our forum, we have never had chairmanship election . In Ilorin, we were about seven governors, later on Oshiomhole came by the time Amaechi was selected..
Was he elected or selected, was it done through consensus?
Let me tell you what happened , we just arrived there and they said that we need to have a new leadership . Everybody was like, it was going to be me because I was the vice based on the constitution. The then governor of Bayelsa State, Sylva said Amaechi , then the PDP governors said Amaechi. Nothing else, nobody said; raise your hand . It was just like that . It has always been through consensus, when we agree we agree. Initially what worked against me was that they argued that I’m a non – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor. In fact, I have letters , documents to back what I am saying .
You are perceived as a man of integrity. What exactly happened?
For you to understand, let me continue with what happened in Ilorin. they said that it should not be me because am not from PDP, it was actually zoned to the South-East . Let me tell you the background so that you will understand this very well. When we were having a little bit of problem with Saraki and governors wanted to remove him, we decided that we must formalize everything concerning the forum . We went and borrowed the American Governors’ Forum constitution which says that there would be a chairman and vice chairman . After two years, the chairman leaves and the vice takes over, a new vice is appointed. That is the American constitution and that was what we adopted. Based on this, on the day we agreed to this, I was elected the vice chairman under Saraki. That was in 2009. It was by consensus, the governors said let Peter Obi be the vice Chairman. That was how I became the vice chairman.
How come there is a problem of re-election?
It is not supposed to be. That document is doctored. What we adopted has no provision for re-election . The American Governors’ Forum constitution says after two years, the vice will automatically take over. So, there is no issue of reelection . This like an NGO of equal partners. After I served for two years, when it was 2011 they brought the issue of PDP being the majority party. I was the only APGA governor then. They zoned it to the South-East, the then four PDP governors in the south east signed and said they wanted me. At that stage, they decided to look for another zone. That was how Amaechi came into being.
But we understand that a section on non-re-election was amended at the Corporate Affairs Commission?
Let me tell you, all those things were not approved by anybody . They doctored it. I am one man who attends every meeting, I can’t remember ever sitting down and adopting the constitution you are talking about.
Was there truly an election, what happened?
As far as I am concerned, in Kwara , a particular governor said they should not conduct election in Kwara because we do not have a quorum . He was told that a quorum is 12 . And even in this constitution, they are quoting now, our quorum remains 12 . If the quorum is 12 and 12 don’t want you, that means you should even not contest.
And the 18 are saying, you don’t recognize him?
If the quorum says it is 12 and 12 do not want you , the game should be up, I don’t see anything anybody will stay a day longer for.
As we speak to you now, who is the chairman of NGF?
For me, for our zone, our support goes to Jang. Let me tell you my stand on this, I support Jang based on consensus and based on the agreement of my zone.
Do you feel bad that Amaechi is insisting on re-election when he knows how he himself emerged?
The way I see it is that it is a voluntary organisation which nobody should insist on being the chairman . If the quorum is 12 and 12 people have said no, it should end there.
Meanwhile, Governor Fayemi has described Amaechi’s re-election as victory for democracy, saying that the decision of the forum to opt for election instead of consensus was as a result of democratic growth.
Fayemi, who spoke with journalists at his Ishan-Ekiti country home at the weekend, however urged Nigerians to see the emergence of Amaechi as strictly a demonstration of his colleagues’ confidence in his leadership of the Forum and not a victory over the Presidency.
Fayemi said: “It is a contest among governors for the chairmanship position and it would be wrong for anyone to consider it a contest between President Goodluck Jonathan and Amaechi as the President was not a contestant.”
Fayemi described as “sad” comments by the anti-Amaechi governors that the NGF election was rigged. According to him, it is sad and soiling the integrity of anyone who holds such a belief. He added that the election which was recorded on tape was one of the most credible he had witnessed.
In a related development, Jang has pledged to unite the governors’ forum.
The governor who stated this yesterday at the Yakubu Gowon Airport in Jos shortly after his arrival from Abuja where he emerged as the Chairman of the NGF, said he never bargained for the position, but out of God’s work he emerged.
He pledged to give the forum the best, stressing that the NGF should not divide the Governors Forum. Meanwhile, Plateau citizens came out en-masse to celebrate his emergence with many saying they were caught unawares as they never expected it.
Source: The Sun
