Govs: No gang up against Jonathan

State governors in the PDP have not ganged up against President Jonathan in the selection of a new chairman for the ruling party, Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio said yesterday.

Akpabio, who spoke in Abuja shortly after a meeting of the National Economic Council in which all state governors are members, said reports that they were plotting to defeat the president’s choice were not true.

“(Those) are speculations,” he said when asked by State House correspondents if the governors had teamed up against Jonathan.

“I don’t believe that any governor would do that: to gang up against the president.”

Ahead of the People’s Democratic Party’s national convention scheduled for March 24, reports say Jonathan prefers Alhaji Bamanga Tukur for the post of national chairman, which has been zoned to the Northeast.

But the governors are reported to be opposed to Tukur, preferring instead to choose from among other candidates.

Among those in the race are PDP national publicity secretary Rufai Ahmed Alkali, acting national secretary Musa Babayo, former Bauchi governor Ahmadu Muazu, Senator Muhammad Abba Aji, Dr. Shettima Mustapha.

Yesterday, a report said the PDP governors had resolved to frustrate any candidate loyal to Jonathan from holding any party position, because they blamed the president for the failure of former Bayelsa governor Timipre Sylva to secure the party’s ticket.

But Akpabio said the party’s chairman would emerge through democratic means.

“PDP is a democratic party, and as far as I am concerned the president is the leader of the party, so there is no way we the followers can gang up against our leader.

“The president is our leader and we go with our leader. And as far as I am concerned there is no issue because the president will like to see a democratic process emerge, and as far as PDP is concerned, the PDP recognises his leadership.”

Akpabio also spoke on the President’s attendance at the burial of the late Biafran warlord Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

“I think it is a very good thing to happen to Nigeria because it became a source of unity, a unifying factor for the whole country,” he said.

At a briefing after the National Economic Council meeting, officials announced that the Minister of Agriculture made a presentation on the utilisation of the special intervention funds for agriculture, and that there was a balance of N137 billion from the funds.

The council also considered proposals of what to do with the balance, but no specifics were given to journalists.