Jang’s visit to PDP chiefs anger other govs

The visit of the Governor Jonah Jang-led faction of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party is causing ripples among his supporters.

Jang, who claimed he emerged through the endorsement he received from governors of the PDP and northern governors, visited notable leaders of his party in Abuja on Saturday.

Those he visited included Vice President Namadi Sambo; Chairman, Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih; and the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Bamanga Tukur.

At the Forum election held in Abuja on Friday, the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, polled 19 votes while Jang recorded 16 votes.

He and some aggrieved governors however rejected the result, saying Amaechi ought to step down before the election since he would be contesting.

However, our correspondent reports that the constitution of the Forum is silent on this matter as it neither says the chairman ought to resign if he is re-contesting or not.

Before the conduct of the election, Anenih had gone round the country, to appeal to PDP governors to them to vote for the party’s candidate, the Governor of Katsina State, Alhaji Ibrahim Shema.

One of the governors, who attended the Jang’s group meeting, which was held at Benue State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja on Saturday but was not part of the group that went to see Anenih, Sambo and Tukur, described the visits as a political blunder.

The governor, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity on Sunday, said it was wrong for the group to further portray it as being sponsored by the PDP and the Presidency.

He blamed one of the governors (name withheld) for the blunder, saying the governor was also responsible for the humiliation the group suffered at the NGF poll.

He said, “Look, we ought not to have participated in that election because we knew we might be defeated.

“This was because we couldn’t trust some of the governors who brought Jang to us as their candidate, but this same governor applauded the choice of Jang.

“Now, they are going about showing that the PDP was actually behind our group. That is a bad tact and they know it. But since they will not listen, I wish them good luck.”

When contacted, Jang, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. James Mannok, said his boss was still marshalling his plans and would unveil them soon.