IT was a tense atmosphere last night in Abuja as the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) National Executive Council (NEC) and governors met to take crucial decisions on its order of primaries and other burning issues.
At the end of the meeting, 20 governors endorsed and adopted President Goodluck Jonathan as the PDP’s candidate of the party for the presidential primary election slated for January 13 2011.
But the Atiku Campaign Organization dismissed the endorsement, saying that it was of no significance, provided it did not take away the rights of the PDP delegates.
And against the backdrop of a statement credited to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that if peaceful change was not allowed, it would make violent change inevitable, Jonathan said that his government would not hesitate to bring anybody who made treasonable comments before the law. President Goodluck Jonathan sounded a note of warning to those making inciting statements, challenging Nigeria’s sovereignty as a nation and warned that his government would no longer “take that kind of rubbish lightly.”
Also, the PDP’s national chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo appealed for peace among aspirants.
The communiqué came after intense debate and not a little tension at the meeting at the end of which the old order of primaries acceptable to the governors was upheld.
According to sources, President Jonathan, in the face of insistence on their position by the governors said he wanted the order reversed along the lines of the National Assembly members’ position not necessarily for his own purpose but to prevent the impression gaining ground that his primaries opponent, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, sees him as incapable of reining in the party power blocs from festering.
It was at this point that a consensus was reached that a point had to be made in the communiqué for him, to show that while his preference for the order of the elections may have been defeated, the governors still are with him.
Interestingly, Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki, a former presidential aspirant and chairman of the Governors’ Forum who was expected to read the communiqué failed to do so. And he did not sign it.
The communiqué signed by 20 PDP governors and read by the governor of Katsina, Ibrahim Shema says: “At the emergency meeting of PDP governors held Thursday December 16, 2010 and having extensively on democratic practices the world over observed as follows: Democratic systems all over the world recognize the principles of incumbency and continuity.
Entrenched democratic culture persistent in presidential system and our constitution entitles our president to for a second term which the PDP governors support.
The governors also recognize the Yar’adua/Jonathan ticket and therefore hereby support President Goodluck Jonathan (GCFR) to contest the 2011 election as the PDP presidential candidate for a period of four years only.”
It was signed by Gabriel Suswam of Benue State, Babangida Aliyu of Niger state, Shema of Katsina state, Godwill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, Liyel Imoke of Cross River, Mohammed Goje of Gombe, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers, Muritala Nyako of Adamawa, Timi Sylva of Bayelsa, Jonah Jang of Plateau, Akwe Doma of Nasarawa, Sani Danladi (deputy governor), Isa Yuguda of Bauchi, Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna, Saibu Usman of Kebbi, Ibrahim Idris of Kogi, Aliyu Shinkafi of Zamafara, Gbenga Daniel of Ogun, Ada Okwuonu (deputy governor of Imo) and Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo state.
Fielding questions, Shema said that there would still be a presidential primary election, but it is necessary to state the stance of the governors in the presidential primary election.
Meanwhile, the National Executive Committee of PDP has approved the following timetable for the all categories of the primary elections for the party. The NEC also cancelled the staggered presidential primary. There would be one presidential primary election to take place on January 13 at the Eagle square in Abuja .
The screening of the presidential aspirants is slated for between January 11 and 12 2011.
The National Assembly primary election will hold on January 6, 2011, with the screening of the aspirants expected to take place on between December 29- 30 2010. The appeal panel will sit on January 3 2011, if there is any.
The governorship primary will take place on January 9 2011, while the election of the ad-hoc delegates on December 28 and election of National Delegates will take place on January 8 2011.
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