PDP Govs Set for Showdown with Jonathan, Mu’azu as Gov Elechi Sets to Dump PDP for APC

All appears not to be well in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as governor elected under the platform of the party are said to be angry with President Goodluck Jonathan and the national chairman of the PDP, Adamu Mu’azu over the failure of an alleged agreement they reached before Jonathan was adopted as the sole presidential candidate of the party.

The PDP governors had adopted Jonathan as the party’s sole candidate in exchange for certain political leverage part of which is to allow them, the governors present their preferred candidates as successors just as those with senatorial ambitions were to be allowed to aspire.

But the governors are said to be angry because he fell to the blackmail of senators who threatened to impeach him and therefore agreed with them (senators) that some of them be given automatic tickets.

A source said some of the governors are already considering leaving the PDP if the agreement is not headed to and a meeting to secure the commitment of the president in the implementation of the agreement has been scheduled for Tuesday night.

One of the governor who is reportedly set to dump the PDP unless something urgent is done is the governor of Ebonyi State, Martin Elechi.

Elechi, had already concluded plans to defect to the opposition All Progressives Congress due to the collapse of the alleged political deal. Elechi’s grouse is the PDP National Working Committee’s apparent pander to the political wishes of the deputy governor, Mr. Dave Umahi, which has effectively given the party’s state structure to him.

Apart from virtually being prevented from presenting his nominee, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, as PDP candidate for next year’s governorship election in the state, with the NWC’s acceptance of Umahi’s ward delegates list, the deputy governor’s men won most of the tickets in the House of the Assembly primaries. Umahi is believed to be backed by Secretary to the Government of the Federation Anyim Pius Anyim and former Governor Sam Egwu, two of whom are from Ebonyi State.

The rumour is strong in Ebonyi that if the president does not intervene urgently, Elechi may be heading for APC soon.

Besides collapse of the alleged deal with Jonathan, many of the governors have lost the capacity to present their preferred nominees as PDP candidates and have, thus, also lost the capacity to determine their successors.

It was gathered that some sitting senators had approached the Senate President, David Mark to help them prevail on both the President and PDP chairman not to agree with the governors.

It was learnt that part of the plot aimed at frustrating the deal the President had with the governors was for the Senators to support the opposition for the impeachment of Jonathan.

This, it was gathered, was aimed at putting pressure on the President and the President to support the return of majority of the PDP senators.

In order to achieve their aim, Mark and the Senate Leader, Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba met with Mua’zu in Abuja on Thursday.

The highpoint of the high wire political intrigues was Friday’s curious withdrawal of Governors Emmanuel Uduaghan and Sullivan Chime of Delta and Enugu states, respectively, from the senatorial race.

A governor from one of the northern states, who did not want to be named, told some newsmen that his South-east colleague “is already on his way to the opposition” as a result of the shabby treatment meted out to the governors.

The governor said, “The PDP we used to know is not the one we are seeing now. The party is rotten and this is very shameful and unfortunate; some of us feel like crying for the party we once cherished as the biggest party in Africa.

“It is most ridiculous for the president to reach an agreement with us and renege or rather not to know what is happening when governors are being pushed here and there by forces who are merely interested in their personal benefits.

“But I can assure you that we have decided to unravel what is really the issue because we suspect foul play in all that is going on within the party. Imagine forcing sitting governors to withdraw from the race simply because someone somewhere is threatened by the presence of former governors who are desirous of being senators.”

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