Amaechi, Shema to Vie for NGF Chair May 23

The race for the chairmanship of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), whose election is billed for Abuja on May 23, is going to be a straight contest between the incumbent and Rivers State Governor, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi and his Katsina State counterpart, Alhaji Ibrahim Shema, THISDAY gathered sunday.

The two Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors are expected to slug it out in the crucial election that has been dogged by intrigues and controversy in the last few months.

While Amaechi derives his support base from his colleagues in the forum, especially some PDP governors who are opposed to moves by the presidency to intervene in the leadership of the NGF as well as their counterparts in the opposition parties, Shema is largely seen as the candidate of the presidency and would be counting on pro-presidency PDP governors for victory.

The election has polarised the 36 state governors into pro-Amaechi and pro-presidency camps and efforts to manage the division in a bid to stave off a possible crisis in the NGF, especially with threats that the opposition governors might pull out of the forum should the presidency impose a chairman, had led to the postponement of the election last March.

The decision to field Amaechi and Shema came after many fruitless efforts by the PDP Governors’ Forum (PDP-GF) to pick a consensus candidate for the post. 

According to a copy of the minutes of the March 11, 2013 meeting of the PDP-GF obtained by THISDAY, the forum decided that since the   governors were sharply divided on who should be the consensus candidate for the NGF chairmanship election, only the two governors that have had indicated interest to run, Amaechi and Shema, would stand for the election.

THISDAY gathered that it was for this reason that the last meeting of the PDP governors on April 24, 2013 deliberately refused to discuss any issue relating to the NGF election.

A governor confided in THISDAY that a tentative date of May 23 had been fixed for the election of a new chairman after consultations with members.

He said: “We hope that the election will take place on May 23. It is expected that the election will hold three days to the date the incumbent chairman was elected.”

Amaechi was elected at a valedictory session hosted by his predecessor who was then Kwara State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki.
Saraki had held the chairmanship position for four years.

The source explained: “We have passed this stage (of consensus candidate), as we have simply resolved that both Amaechi and Shema should go into the election.”