Ime Akpan
Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have rooted for the recognition of the governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara as the leader of the party in the state.
The support for Fubara is contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum (PDP-GF) held in Jalingo, Taraba State yesterday.
In the communiqué read by the by the governor of Bauchi State and chairman of the forum, Mr Bala Mohammed, the governors urged the national leadership of the party to allow Fubara to take his position as the rightful leader of the party in the state.
Their renewed support for the governor followed the conduct of a disputed party congress in which Fubara was denied a say.
The governors tasked the national working committee of the party to revisit the exercise and allow Fubara to take his rightful place in the leadership of the party.
“The Forum notes the political impasse in Rivers State where court judgements are employed to determine the outcome of the party congresses.
“The PDP Governors’ Forum restates its stand with the Governor of Rivers State and will engage the National Working Committee (NWC) of our great party to revisit the congress to correct the anomaly and allow His Excellency Governor Siminalayi Fubara to take his rightful leadership position of the party in the state,” the communiqué said.
The support is also is premised on the intractable disagreement between Fubara and his predecessor, Mr Nyesom Wike, who is now the minister of FCT over the control of the political structure in the state.
The political rift has caused division in the party both at the state and the national levels with PDP national working committee which appears to be in support of Wike as evidenced in the July ward congress in which Wike’s men triumphed.
The PDP governors promised to engage the party’s NWC to revisit the congresses with a view to “correct the anomaly.”
Furthermore, the forum commended the PDP governors for their matured handling of the #EndBadGovernance protests across the country, and urged the federal government to stop the blame game, and face governance squarely by addressing core policy issues with a view to reducing the sufferings of Nigerians.
“The Meeting deliberated on crucial intra-party and governance matters affecting our states as well as those of overriding national interest and importance.
“The governors noted with a sigh of relief the end of the #EndBadGovernance protests which was edging to a major national crisis.
“We salute the dexterity of the governors, especially of the PDP extraction in handling the situation in their respective States with maturity, thereby restraining hoodlums and other unscrupulous elements from hijacking the protests.
“The forum reiterates that peaceful protests are the inalienable rights of the citizens through which they vent their genuine grievances. The Forum commiserates with the families of those innocent souls that were lost and calls on the federal government to ensure fair and speedy trial of those who were arrested.
“The forum laments that rather than undertake a review of macro-economic and social policies with a view to giving them a human face, the federal government has resorted to blackmail.
“We call on Mr. President to show statesmanship by restraining his officials from blame games that make the sub-nationals look bad by mentioning piecemeal interventions that cannot solve the problem. We remain unshaken in our firm resolve to stand with the suffering Nigerian masses and to take all legitimate steps to ameliorate their plight,” the communiqué stated.
It also highlighted the concerns of the forum in respect of the crisis in Edo State in the heat up to the upcoming governorship election, and urged the federal government to act with caution in resolving any issues arising there from.
“With regard to the forthcoming governorship election in Edo State, we condemn the pronouncements by the President to compromise the election in favour of his party as well as the systematic intimidation of PDP supporters by the Nigeria Police, and call on the Inspector General of Police to call his men to order.”
On the lingering issue of revenue sharing among the tiers of government, it said: “The Forum notes with concern, the refusal of the federal government to distinguish between the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) revenue and revenue accruing to the Federation which must be allocated in accordance with extant laws.
“We call on the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Accountant General of the Federation to be more transparent in obeying the law, particularly Section 162 (1) (2) (3). And equally call on the Accountant General of the Federation to stop behaving like the accountant general of the federal government, and to exercise her role in line with the Constitution. Therefore, we call for the separation of the office of the accountant general of the federation and that of the accountant general of the FGN.”
Nine PDP governors attended the one-day meeting. They were Mohammed, Fubara, who is the vice chairman, and host governor Dr Agbu Kefas.
Others were the governors of Enugu State, Mr Peter Mbah, Mr Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Mr Caleb Muftang (Plateau), Mr Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), and Mr Godwin Obaseki (Edo).
Those absent were governor of Oyo State, Mr Seyi Makinde, Ademola Adeleke (Osun), Mr Douye Diri (Bayelsa) and Mr Eno Umo (Akwa Ibom).
