Five northern governors, who have been meeting with former Nigerian leaders, have postponed their consultations with a former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, till after the Eid-el-Fitri holidays.
It was gathered on Monday that the governors would also meet with former national chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party, including Chief Solomon Lar and Senator Barnabas Gemade.
The state governors—Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); Rabiu Kwankaso (Kano); Muritala Nyako (Adamawa) and Babagida Aliyu (Niger) – had met with former leaders, including Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar.
They also met former vice-president, Alex Ekwueme, and an ex-Minister of Defence, Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.).
The governors were reported to have scheduled a meeting with Gowon on Sunday, but it was learnt that the meeting was shifted till after the Sallah holidays.
An aide to one of the governors, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said, “They will resume the tour after the Sallah holiday. Like other meetings they had held, the agenda will be the promotion of peace and stability in the country.”
It was also gathered that the decision of the governors to leave the PDP would be left to each of them to take, as they were said to have disagreed on the issue.
It was learnt that while four of the governors were still favourably disposed to staying in the PDP, there were reported plans by Nyako to leave the party for the newly-registered All Progressives Congress.
Nyako’s Chief Press Secretary, Ahmed Sajoh, had on Sunday said Nyako’s supporters were considering the option of joining the APC.
He had said, “The governor has made it clear that he is not leaving the PDP, but the matter in Adamawa State is beyond comprehension as the national chairman of the PDP (Bamanga Tukur) decides what goes on in the party in the state without an iota of concession recourse to the governor.
“This is a sad situation we have endured for some time now. But if it continues unchecked, of course, we (supporters of the governor) will not rule out the option of having a rethink to make our flanks open for discussion with the APC in order to protect our future as politicians.”
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