• We’re here for consultation – Niger gov
From PATRICK AKPUH, AbeokutaBarely 24 hours after the police disrupted a meeting of the seven aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), at the Kano State governor’s lodge in Abuja, former President
Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday met with members of the splinter group under
the leadership of Alhaji Kawu Baraje in his Abeokuta country home.
Before visiting Obasanjo, the governors made a stopover in Lagos to meet with a former Head of State and a retired general.
A source close to the Lagos meeting told Daily Sun that journalists were barred from the meeting, which held behind closed-doors, for security reasons and to prevent a repeat of the ugly incident in Abuja when policemen stopped the meeting of the group.
In Abeokuta, the closed-door meeting with Obasanjo lasted for about two hours and had in attendance Governors Babangida Aliyu (Niger State), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers). Governors Abdulfatah Ahmed and Aliyu Wamakko of Kwara and Sokoto states respectively, were however, absent.
A few hours before the meeting commenced, news broke to journalists that the governors’ flight from Abuja had been cancelled due to what, a source described as “order from above.”
Daily Sun checks revealed that the purported flight cancellation was a decoy to avoid being trailed by the same forces responsible for the recurring disruptions of their previous meetings. Apparently, the governors played a fast one on people on their trail, having landed at the Ibadan airport, the Oyo State capital, other than Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.
Checks revealed that the governors later travelled to Abeokuta in a convoy of vehicles bearing number plates belonging to the Oyo State governor’s fleet. The vehicles included two black Hyandai Space buses with registration numbers: 01A 01 OY and 01A 02 OY; a Toyota Hilux van with registration number 01A 32 OY; a luxury bus with registration number OY 667 A01. However, the two Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV), which actually conveyed the governors to Obasanjo’s home, had their plate numbers covered.
Last Sunday’s disruption of the G7’s meeting was the second, after a similar incident took place a week ago at the Sokoto State governor’s lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, when policemen barricaded the lodge, forcing the governors to move their meeting to the Kano State governor’s lodge.
In order to prevent the information pertaining to the governors’ movement leaking to the public, the five governors rode in a BMW SUV driven by Governor Amaechi. Possibly, the security details of the governors were also not involved in the convoy’s pilot.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Governor Babangida Aliyu told journalists that the meeting was nothing more than one of their consultations aimed at ending the crisis.
His words: “We are here as part of our consultations. If you can recall, when the issue started, we consulted with our elders and this is part of the consultations, moreso that we are getting closer to the resolution of the matters.”
Speaking against the background of rumours that President Goodluck Jonathan was under pressure not to meet with members of the New PDP to which the governors belong, Aliyu expressed optimism that the meeting with the president was not foreclosed.
“We believe that very soon, we’ll be discussing with the president. We believe that after the lull of the pilgrimages, we’re all back. We need to consult again to find out if there are any variables that have intervened and we’re very happy that things are going on normally,” he stated.
Before visiting Obasanjo, the governors made a stopover in Lagos to meet with a former Head of State and a retired general.
A source close to the Lagos meeting told Daily Sun that journalists were barred from the meeting, which held behind closed-doors, for security reasons and to prevent a repeat of the ugly incident in Abuja when policemen stopped the meeting of the group.
In Abeokuta, the closed-door meeting with Obasanjo lasted for about two hours and had in attendance Governors Babangida Aliyu (Niger State), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers). Governors Abdulfatah Ahmed and Aliyu Wamakko of Kwara and Sokoto states respectively, were however, absent.
A few hours before the meeting commenced, news broke to journalists that the governors’ flight from Abuja had been cancelled due to what, a source described as “order from above.”
Daily Sun checks revealed that the purported flight cancellation was a decoy to avoid being trailed by the same forces responsible for the recurring disruptions of their previous meetings. Apparently, the governors played a fast one on people on their trail, having landed at the Ibadan airport, the Oyo State capital, other than Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.
Checks revealed that the governors later travelled to Abeokuta in a convoy of vehicles bearing number plates belonging to the Oyo State governor’s fleet. The vehicles included two black Hyandai Space buses with registration numbers: 01A 01 OY and 01A 02 OY; a Toyota Hilux van with registration number 01A 32 OY; a luxury bus with registration number OY 667 A01. However, the two Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV), which actually conveyed the governors to Obasanjo’s home, had their plate numbers covered.
Last Sunday’s disruption of the G7’s meeting was the second, after a similar incident took place a week ago at the Sokoto State governor’s lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, when policemen barricaded the lodge, forcing the governors to move their meeting to the Kano State governor’s lodge.
In order to prevent the information pertaining to the governors’ movement leaking to the public, the five governors rode in a BMW SUV driven by Governor Amaechi. Possibly, the security details of the governors were also not involved in the convoy’s pilot.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Governor Babangida Aliyu told journalists that the meeting was nothing more than one of their consultations aimed at ending the crisis.
His words: “We are here as part of our consultations. If you can recall, when the issue started, we consulted with our elders and this is part of the consultations, moreso that we are getting closer to the resolution of the matters.”
Speaking against the background of rumours that President Goodluck Jonathan was under pressure not to meet with members of the New PDP to which the governors belong, Aliyu expressed optimism that the meeting with the president was not foreclosed.
“We believe that very soon, we’ll be discussing with the president. We believe that after the lull of the pilgrimages, we’re all back. We need to consult again to find out if there are any variables that have intervened and we’re very happy that things are going on normally,” he stated.
