Governors Abdullahi Sule and Yahaya Bello of Nasarawa and Kogi States respectively on Sunday night engaged in hot argument over the direct mode of primaries imposed on political parties by the National Assembly.
The incident was said to have occurred when 22 governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) under the aegis of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) met in Abuja to discuss salient issues affecting the ruling party.
Sule is said to be an advocate of direct primaries while Bello is opposed to it.
When the issue came up for discussion, Sule was said to have spoken in favour of adopting it.
However, Bello reportedly took exception to the words used by his Nasarawa counterpart, which led to a shouting match between the duo.
“The meeting started on a friendly note with the governors exchanging banters before getting down to the business of the day.
“They had agreed to propose February as the date for the convention to give room for the President to choose a day at his convenience for the event. This was done after a vote of confidence was passed in the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led caretaker committee and the party congresses held across the nation.
“Trouble, however, started when the issue of the amendment to the Electoral Act as passed by the National Assembly came up. Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, who spoke in favour of the direct primaries, used words which his Kogi State counterpart, Yahaya Bello, felt were offensive, and a war of words ensued. It took the intervention of the Chairman of the PGF and Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Bagudu, to restore calm,” The Punch quoted a source as saying.
Chairman of the PGF and Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu told reporters after the meeting that the final decision on adoption of direct primaries would be made public after a meeting with the president.