Factional chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Jonah Jang, on Monday replied Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State that he cannot be tagged an impersonator as he has never claimed to be the governor of Rivers State.
Jang spoke in response to an accusation by Amaechi that he (Jang) was impersonating him by calling for the meeting of the NGF.
Amaechi had said he read in the media that Jang called a meeting of the governors, adding that such amounted to impersonation because he (Amaechi) as the chairman of the NGF did not call any meeting.
He therefore called on the governors to disregard Jang’s call for a meeting since he (Amaechi) did not send the notice.
“Am I claiming to be the Governor of Rivers State? How am I then impersonating him?” he asked in Abuja while responding to journalists questions after he presided over the meeting of his faction of the NGF.
At the meeting were the governors of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Delta, Kaduna, Katsina, Kogi, Taraba, Bauchi, Ondo and Imo states.
Benue State governor was however represented by his deputy.
The governors were later led by Jang into a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa.
Journalists were barred from the meeting which started at exactly 10pm on Monday.
Missing at the meeting were governors of Niger, Kano, Sokoto, Ekiti, Osun, Lagos, Oyo, Osun,Edo and Rivers states. The governors that were not at the meeting called by Jang and also absent at the meeting with the President were those loyal to Amaechi in the NGF.
The NGF became polarised after the Forum’s controversial election last month with both Jang and Amaechi claiming victory in the election, but the Rivers governor was said to have polled 19 votes, while the Plateau governor was said to have had the support of 16 of his colleagues.
However, President Jonathan has recognised Jang as Chairman of NGF. The ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party has suspended Amaechi for alleged anti-party activities.
The Rivers governor had accused the PDP of a witch-hunt, saying it was only in the PDP that a governor could be suspended without being given the opportunity to defend himself.
Meanwhile, the President on Monday met behind closed doors with five PDP governors in the fence-mending committee set up by Jonathan.
The governors are those of Bayelsa, Dickson; Akwa Ibom, Godswill Akpabio; Abia, Theodore Orji; Delta, Emmanuel Uduaghan; Bauchi, Isa Yuguda; and Katsina, Ibrahim Shema.
They were led into the President’s office at about 5pm by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim; and the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Dr. Ahmed Gulak.
Vice-President Namadi Sambo also attended the meeting.
A source told one of our correspondents that the meeting provided the governors an opportunity to report back to Jonathan on their assignment.
They came out of the President’s office at about 6.20pm without talking to journalists.