Eighteen state governors and two deputy governors agreed on a one-term tenure for the President in Abuja on Thursday ahead of the primaries, where he will go head-to-head against former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Jonathan and the governors sealed the deal after a high-profile meeting held at the PDP National Headquarters, Abuja, which was attended by the President and representatives of the states being controlled by the ruling party.
The meeting, which was the second in three days, coming after the acrimonious first one held at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, was attended by Vice-President Namadi Sambo; PDP National Chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo; and Senate President David Mark.
The meeting, which started at 4.40 pm when Jonathan arrived at the PDP HQs, ended at about 6.20 pm.
SATURDAY PUNCH learnt that the second meeting between the governors and Jonathan became necessary as the first meeting between the two parties failed to achieve the desired result as some grey areas could not be sorted out.
At the first meeting at the Villa on Tuesday, which was the 53rd National Executive Council meeting of the PDP, the reality dawned on Jonathan that he needed to concede to some of the demands of the governors.
Two of the demands of the governors, it was gathered, were that the governorship primaries be held before the primaries for the presidential slot of the party, while the governors also wanted an “undertaking” that Jonathan would not run for a second term in 2015.
The Northern governors, who were in attendance, it was learnt, were most vocal in canvassing a single term of four years for Jonathan, a demand the President was said to be uncomfortable with.
“The President was reluctant in agreeing to a single term while some of the governors, especially the hard-line pro-zoning governors, were afraid that without extracting a firm commitment from the President, there would be no guarantee that he would not run for a second term in 2015, when he would have entrenched a firm hold on the party structure,” the source, who craved anonymity, said.
It was the reasoning that the hardliners believed that Jonathan represented the former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepriye Alamieyeseigha, at the meeting when zoning in the PDP was agreed upon, but had turned against the zoning arrangement in the party.
SATURDAY PUNCH gathered that the governors, however, regrouped at the Kwara Lodge after the first meeting at the Villa, and headed for the NEC meeting of the party on Thursday afternoon spoiling for a fight with the President.
It was learnt that when the governors arrived at the PDP National HQs for the second meeting, Nwodo sent for them to discuss some undisclosed issues with them before the arrival of Sambo and Mark, and before the arrival of Jonathan at 4. 40 pm.
SATURDAY PUNCH learnt that the issue of the order of primaries and the contentious single four-year term for the President topped the agenda of the meeting.
It was believed that the party leadership was jittery that if these issues were not sorted out, the threat of former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, that the PDP might fail if it didn‘t embrace reforms, might come to pass.
“The leaders equally believed that the nation was shifting from the PDP and needs to reform to stay relevant,” the source said.
The source said it was after the President realised that the governors had insisted on holding their primaries before the presidential primaries that Jonathan agreed to run for a single four-year term.
The NEC agreed on holding the primaries of the party with the House of Assembly coming first, followed by the National Assembly primaries, before the governorship primaries on January 9, 2011, while the presidential primaries will now hold after this.
It was gathered that the Northern governors agreed with their colleagues on the belief that Jonathan would be a man of honour in 2015 by making good his promise not go for a second term.
A statement by the NEC after the meeting read in part, ”The governors support and endorse President (Goodluck Ebele) Jonathan to contest the 2011 elections as the PDP presidential candidate for a period of four years.”
With the latest development, it was difficult to ascertain if the decision of the NEC and the position of the governors in particular had thrown a spanner in the wheels of Abubakar, who emerged the Northern Political Leaders‘ Forum consensus aspirant last November.
A source in the camp of the former VP, however, told SATURDAY PUNCH that the position of the governors was insignificant to the ambition of their principal.
”Such a decision and position do not affect the chance of Abubakar and it is insignificant as long as they don‘t take away the right of the delegates to vote. There should be no intimidation of the delegates at the primary,” the source said.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/
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