2015 governorship: Akpabio, other PDP governors may confront Jonathan

This news report published in The Nation newspaper of today, Saturday, 11 October, 2014 is revealing. It shows that PDP governors like Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State who is bent on imposing their stooges as their successors are indeed in trouble.

Read the story after the cut…..

 

 By Yusuf Ali

The governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday kicked against the stoppage of consensus endorsement of their candidature and others in their states for the 2015 poll by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.

The aggrieved governors alleged that the NWC had acted in concert with the presidency to halt the endorsement gale.

They also accused the presidency and the NWC of “double standards” when the leader of the party, President Goodluck Jonathan had benefited from the same consensus endorsement.

Some of the governors also said they might ask the National Convention of the party to revisit the endorsement of Jonathan by the National Executive Committee (NEC).

The National Secretary of the party, Prof. Wale Oladipo, had on Thursday voided the endorsement of governorship, senatorial and other candidates by the governors and state chapters.

The party directed the governors and state chairmen of PDP to cancel such endorsements.

With the annulment of the endorsements, some of those affected are: the President of the Senate; Chief David Mark, who is seeking the fifth term in the Senate; the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba(SAN); outgoing governors already anointed for the Senate, including  Godswill Akpabio( Akwa Ibom);  Gabriel Suswam(Benue);  Emmanuel Uduaghan(Delta); Saidu Dakingari(Kebbi); Theodore Orji ( Abia); Sullivan Chime( Enugu); Ibrahim Shema(Katsina); Babangida Aliyu(Niger); and Isa Yuguda(Bauchi)

Others are: second-term- seeking governors like Ramalan Yero( Kaduna); the Acting Governor of Taraba State, Garba Umar; Ibrahim Dankwambo(Gombe); Henry Seriake-Dickson(Bayelsa),  among others.

Those whose governorship endorsements have been voided are Emmanuel Ugwuanyi(Enugu); the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu(Ebonyi); ex-Minister of State for Health, Dr. Ali Pate( Bauchi).

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the governors were shocked that the PDP NWC could give such a directive after it had lured them to endorse Jonathan’s automatic second-term ticket.

One of the governors, who was devastated by the directive, said: “We have discussed among ourselves, such a cancellation of endorsements by the NWC is unacceptable to us.

“Whatever is good for the goose is good for the gander. If the NWC means business, the ban on endorsements should be across the board.

“We cannot be used and dumped by anybody or group. Why are they changing the game now?”

Another governor said: “Such a ban will spell doom for the party. The National Headquarters should not dabble in what is happening at the state. Are they just realising that endorsement is not good for our democracy?

“Look, endorsement or consensus-building is part of the game too.”

A third governor said: “The party should let us subject all nomination process to state congresses and National Convention. The party should leave the presidential nomination open and the President should seek second term mandate at the National Convention.

“Since the beginning of the week, we had suspected foul play when they directed all aspirants to come to Abuja to collect nomination form for any elective office.

“In any case, I am not bothered because the National Secretary, who issued the directive, was not elected by the National Convention of the party. The directive was a product of illegality, it cannot stand.”

It was gathered that some governors were being appeased by party leaders as at the time of going to the press.

“Nobody was targeted but we do not want endorsement abused in such a way that it will erode democratic process. We will iron our issues on this,” a top party leader added.