NGF poll: Anti-Amaechi camp splits

All is set for a battle royale as three candidates have picked nomination forms to vie for the Office of the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF).

The three governors are the incumbent chairman, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); Ibrahim Shema (Katsina) and Isa Yuguda (Bauchi).

The emergence of two candidates from the presidency/ anti-Amaechi forces signposts a split.

Desperate efforts were being made last night to bring Shema and Yuguda to a dialogue table to enable one of them to step down.

The Northern Governors Forum last night fixed a meeting for today between 11am and 2pm.

A source at the NGF Secretariat said: “Just a few minutes ago, Governor Isa Yuguda came to obtain a nomination form. We have three candidates vying for the office now.

“We are still working out modalities for the election which would hold on Friday (today). So far, we do not envisage any hiccups at all.”

It was however gathered that all the governors have broken into different caucuses to strategise for the poll.

Another source added: “The loyalists of the candidates have been coming to different caucuses to sell their qualities ahead of the election. It is like a mini-campaign.

“The major problem in the camp of the presidency/anti-Amaechi forces is that Shema has refused to step down for Yuguda.

“The anti-Amaechi forces are worried that the Rivers State governor can have an easy ride if their camp remains divided.

“But pro-Amaechi governors were suspecting last night that the nomination of Shema and Yuguda could be a deliberate ploy to distract them so that they would not know who is contesting against their candidate.”

“We want to use the opportunity of the session to harmonize our position. Northern governors are 19, our votes are vital to the emergence of any NGF chairman,” a governor said.

Asked if block voting is possible by the Forum, the governor said: “It is remote but we can be united for a common cause.

“We have our own challenge too because some governors see the NGF chair as a ticket to the clinching of the Vice-Presidency in 2015.”

The Northern Reconnaissance Group (NRG) has advised Northern governors to stand firm by voting for their conscience.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Most governors want secret ballot; those opposed to Amaechi were lobbying for open ballot or no election. They want governors to openly identify with their preferred candidate for the NGF chair.“I think the anti-Amaechi forces, who had collected signatures, are determined to monitor whether PDP governors in particular will keep faith with the wish of the Presidency.

“So far, the NGF secretariat has not been able to resolve the mode of the ballot.”

Responding to a question, a source at the NGF secretariat said: “We have been holding a series of meeting since morning on election modalities.

“While we are doing this, more governors have signified intention to join the race. We are waiting for them to obtain the nomination form before we make the list public.”

Article 6.3 -6.7of the NGF Constitution says: “The meeting of the Governing Board shall be known as the General Meeting and shall hold as many times as circumstances and members’ convenience dictate but not less than once quarterly.

“The quorum at the General Meeting shall be half of the total number of the Members of the Governing Board.

“Notice of the General Meeting shall be communicated to the members in writing or orally or through other means of communication not less than three days to the meeting

“Members of the Governing Board shall elect from among themselves a person to be known and addressed as Chairman who shall preside over the affairs of the Board and chair all its meetings and another to be known and addressed as Vice-Chairman, who shall assist the Chairman in directing the affairs of the Board and chair its meeting in the absence of the chairman.

“In electing the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, members shall give due regard to;

“The principle of federal character; and the need to reflect political party representation in the Board, so as to ensure that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman are not persons elected as Governors of their states on the platform of the same political party but on the platforms of the two political parties with the highest representation in the Board.

“The Chairman and the Vice-Chairman shall hold office for a term of two years but shall be available for re-election for another but final term of two years.”

The NRG has advised Northern governors to stand firm by voting their conscience.

In a statement, signed by its President, Idris Mahuya Ahmed, the group begged Northern governors not to succumb to pressure from the Presidency.

The statement said: “As we write this letter, you all stand at the cross roads of your political lives. The choice of which road to take does not even appear to belong to you people, except a few principled ones among you. A majority of you have become victims of a vested interest and manipulative forces within the Presidency. You all have a choice to be your own men like you have always been in the North or you become puppets and little dumb kids like the lamb meant for the slaughter.

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Prof Tam David-West, urged Amechi to re-contest the election. He urged him to disregard the chiefs of Kalabari Kingdom in Rivers State who asked him not to run when they visited Jonathan in Abuja.

“The chiefs do not understand the issues at stake; they are expressing their own views and not the views of the Kalabari people. I and the Kalabari Kingdom are asking and supporting the governor to contest”.

The former minister who is from Rivers State said Amaechi has the right to contest.

Second Republic Kaduna State Governor Balarabe Musa urged President Jonathan not to meddle in the election of the Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum.

The former governor cautioned the president against imposing his candidate on the governors.

“What does President Jonathan want to achieve with the Governors Forum? Does he think that all the governors belong to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?

“If it is true that he is interfering with the Governors Forum election, it is undemocratic and he must be opposed vehemently. He may succeed in using the governors from the PDP and dump them later, but certainly he cannot use the governors from the opposing political parties for any reason.

“I want to also believe that he is out to impose state of emergency in other States that are not controlled by PDP and if he dares do that again, he is heading for a disaster, he is heading for serious trouble.

---the nation