Ahead of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Governors and some leaders of the South West had a closed door meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday.
?Governorof Sokoto, Magatakarda Wamako and Kano Governor, Rabiu Kwakwaso were at the the villa to confer with the President. ?
Wamakko who was in a private meeting with the President told journalists that ?his visit to the Villa was “just a routine visit to the President of this great country” and had nothing to do with the NEC meeting.
He added that the consultations ?by the five governors including Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Babangida Aliyu (Niger) and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) ?would continue.
The President ?also met with??South West PDP elders led by former PDP National Deputy Chairman (South), Chief Bode George.
South West leaders who met with the President and Vice President Namadi Sambo include Abiola Ogundokun, Ebenezer Babatope, Iyiola Omisore, Hosea Agboola, Tunde Adeniran, ?Lekan Balogun, Musliu Obanikoro, Kayode Adetokunbo, and Wole Oyelese among others. ??
Speaking with journalists at the First Lady’s Residence , where the meeting held, ?the party’s National Vice Chairman, south, Bode George, said the meeting was convened to settle some of the rifts in the south west PDP.
“We came to brief the leader of the party, situation in the south west and with all. Intents and purposes, we do no want to have an acrimony. You know, that is why we have come because we see that there is need to take a cursory look at the PDP south west. The house that has been built we cannot allow it to be destroyed. You know, if termites enter your house, you do not run out to go and be a tenant somewhere, you must fight it”
He said ?the south West PDP called for a full X- ray of the PDP situation in the zone adding that ” I believe that the meeting was very successful and i am happy that we are going to start looking the ?same direction at the end of this time”
“The national convention will go on and the speculations about what is happening in the party and all that, you know, big man big problem. The way the new parties are coming up, we had been there since 1988. They will have to come and learn how to manage Nigeria, managing the tribal sectors all over the place, they will have to,learn how to mange Nigeria and that is what PDP ?has been doing”
“We came to brief the leader of the party, situation in the south west and with all. Intents and purposes, we do no want to have an acrimony. You know, that is why we have come because we see that there is need to take a cursory look at the PDP south west. The house that has been built we cannot allow it to be destroyed. You know, if termites enter your house, you do not run out to go and be a tenant somewhere, you must fight it”
“What I am saying is that in this game, talking about termites. If you build a house, termites will come, if you are not careful. But in our own game, in politics when you get to this stage, anything is possible in a political war. They can send people who are friendly with you to come and pretend that they are your ?friends, those are the termites I am talking about. You ?don’t run away from the termites inside your house and say you will be a tenant. You must stay and make sure that the termites in your own house are caged”
Speaking on the ?issue of national secretary, he noted ?”That is the essence of the meeting, coming to the Supreme Court here of the party. That means it is a serious business but we are all happy that all is well that ends well”
Asked to comment on strategies by the party to recapture the south west for the party ahead of 2015, he declared that ” as an old soldier, you don’t discuss your strategies on the pages of newspaper. We will get there”.
These meetings may be considered ?as part of the President’s ?strategy to woo support from leaders of the party from the south west ahead of the special convention as well as strategies for 2015.
