Drama In Presidential Villa As Kwankwaso Rejects Jonathan’s Request

There was a mild political drama at Nigeria’s Presidential Villa on
Sunday night when Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano
State rejected the request of President Goodluck Jonathan to stand
beside him as Tony Anenih, the chairman of the Board of Trustees
of the People’s Democratic Party, read a communiqué at the end of
their “peace” meeting.
Mr. Kwankwaso was the spokesman of a group of PDP governors
who last Saturday walked out of the venue of the party’s mini-
convention.
He was at Aso Rock Villa to participate in a meeting called by Mr.
Jonathan to iron out differences between the president’s faction of
the party and a splinter group of governors and other party
members who staged the dramatic walkout.
At the end of the peace meeting, which was attended by 16
governors, Mr. Anenih was mandated to speak with reporters as
Mr. Jonathan and his deputy, Namadi Sambo, were reduced to
spectators. A presidential source told SaharaReporters that
President Jonathan had beckoned on Kwankwaso to stand beside
him, but the Kano State governor refused. “When Mr. President
beckoned to Alhaji Kwankwaso to stand by his side as Chief
Anenih read out the communiqué, the governor raised his finger
and shook it several times. He then headed to the side of Chief
Anenih,” said the source. He added that Mr. Jonathan, though
clearly miffed, flashed a pained smile.
SaharaReporters learnt that Mr. Jonathan first met behind closed
doors with former President Olusegun Obasanjo for close to two
hours in the private residence of the president, and then met with
16 PDP governors, including four of the group that walked away
from the mini-convention. The splinter group, led by former Vice
President Abubakar Atiku, subsequently met at the Musa Yar’Adua
Convention Center in Abuja and announced the formation of the
“New PDP.” The rebellious governors include Babangida Aliyu of
Niger State, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State, Murtala Nyako of
Adamawa, and Abdulfatai Ahmed of Kwara State.
Mr. Anenih read the communiqué flanked by President Jonathan
on the right and Governor Kwankwaso on the left, with other
governors behind them. The chairman of the fractious party’s
board of trustees stated that “the leadership of the party and the
PDP governors met today to discuss the incident that occurred
during the PDP special convention on the 31st of August 2013,
whereby some state delegations walked out of the convention
ground to announce a faction of the party.” He added: “The
meeting was smooth and encouraging and the discussions will
continue on Tuesday with all the aggrieved governors in attendance.”