There are indications that some governors in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum have decided to checkmate the chairman of the newly-formed Governors’ Forum of the Peoples’ Democratic Party and Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, particularly with regards to his statements.
The governors, who will meet at a neutral place in Abuja on Wednesday, are of the firm opinion that Akpabio was just another governor and even if the Chairman of the NGF, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State was removed as Chairman in May, the forum shall not experience division as it shall continue to be united.
A source who informed this correspondent on the meeting on Akpabio said that nobody and no amount of money could split the governors apart, adding that Akpabio must be kept in check from making further comments that would polarize the governors after describing some of them as Judases.
Governor Akpabio had on a visit to the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur last week after he had become chairman of the newly-formed PDP Governors’ Forum, said that Nigeria would be better off if the PDP put its house in order. He also said his mission was to flush out Judases from the party, of which he claimed that they were many, adding that the challenges the party was facing at present must come to an end.
Akpabio who was in company of his Bayelsa State Counterpart, Henry Seriake Dickson noted that the problem with PDP has to do with a scenario where the party was engaged in a war with itself, just as he said that PDP was not in a hurry to leave government as it was prepared to win all elections against the backdrop that the PDP belongs to Nigerians and not controlled and owned by an individual.
Akpabio had said, ‘’You know we are having challenges, but the challenges for me with what we have started now have always been a function of PDP, what you saw was an explosion.
‘’PDP is the truly the only national party in Nigeria. PDP cannot lose election because Nigerians have come together to form PDP. PDP belongs to Nigeria and Nigeria belongs to PDP.
‘What has happened to PDP is self-explosion and when there is an explosion, there is treachery, and there are more Judases than you have disciples. We therefore want to have good disciples. We know that even in Christendom when Jesus Christ had 12 disciples there was one Judas, but if the Judas were up to nine, then Jesus could have been in trouble, the gospel would have been in trouble today.
‘’What the PDP is trying to do now is to cleanse its house, to try to identify the ones they called Judas and whisper it to them and say go out, the train is moving and you cannot stand otherwise we will crush you.’’
Meanwhile, it has been gathered that the Ad-hoc Committee on the Adamawa PDP Crises headed by Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State has so far received a dozen memoranda, which its members are studying with a view to submitting them to President Goodluck Jonathan.