PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan and governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have begun moves to encourage five governors who recently defected to the opposition All Progressive Party (APC) to return to the party.
Governors Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Ahmed Abdulfatah (Kwara), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers) have recently decamped to the opposition alleging impunity and lack of democracy in the PDP.
However, at the meeting which preceded the Board of Trustees (BoT) meeting of the PDP at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa on Wednesday, they resolved to explore ways to get the defected governors back to fold.
Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue state who fielded questions from State House correspondents after the meeting, revealed that the meeting focused on the dwindling fortunes of the PDP and how to bring back the governors who he said had only stepped aside.
He said:”the concern is that the fortunes of our party are dwindling and so we need to address that. How do we re-position our party to win the forthcoming elections in Ekiti and Osun. How do we win back our colleagues that have stepped aside.We don’t believe that they have left the party, they only stepped aside. These are the issues that were raised.”
He said that the meeting did not discuss the fate of the embattled National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.
According to him, “first, we met with the President as PDP governors to discuss issues of the party and the way forward. And that meeting is continuing we just touched based with the president to discuss issues that affect the party.
“The issues discuss with the president was basically on how to re-strategise and re-position our party and how to move forward as a party.
“The second meeting is the national caucus and I am not in the position to comment on that after the BoT meeting, the Vice President will brief on the outcome”.
Asked if the issue of the chairman’s resignation was discussed, Suswam noted that”the Vice President will comment on that because in the PDP governors meeting with the president, issues like that was not discussed. I think is the responsibility of the national caucus and the BoT and the Vice President will adequately brief you on the outcome.”