OBJ, S/West PDP govs parley on 2011

Written by Olayinka Olukoya, Abeokuta Monday, 16 August 2010

AHEAD of the 2011 general election, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Sunday, met with governors elected on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to discuss the ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan, to contest the coming election.

The meeting, held behind closed door for almost two and a half hours, was attended by governors of Oyo, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala; his Ogun State counterpart, Chief Gbenga Daniel; Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Osun State and Mr Segun Oni of Ekiti, with the former governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Agagu.

An insider source had earlier informed the Nigerian Tribune that the issue of whether or not Jonathan should contest the presidential election was extensively discussed, while final decision had not be taken over the matter.

Obasanjo, clad in Ankara and blue cap to match, briefed newsmen, saying that the meeting was just a consultative meeting at the request of the PDP governors, to meet on some issues concerning the party in preparation for the elections.

“At the request of PDP governors in the South-West, we decided to hold a consultative meeting among ourselves. I, as the chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the party and they as the leaders of the party in their respective states and, of course, former governor of Ondo State, Dr Agagu, is the leader of the party in Ondo State.

“Since the PDP has resolved the issue of zoning and people are gearing up for declaring and showing their hands and all of that, we decided to hold a preliminary meeting to put our heads together in the South-West as a party and as a component, a dynamic and vibrant component of the PDP in the country and we are going to have another meeting in due course,” he said.

He said they were concerned about the polity of the country and the way forward for the party in the coming elections, adding that the issue of zoning had been laid to rest by the leadership of the party at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Abuja, on Thursday, last week.

The former president said that the next meeting would accommodate a lot of representation from the South-West, adding that Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State was aware that a meeting would be held in his Abeokuta residence.

“When we have the next meeting, there will be representatives and heavy representatives from all the states of the South-West. This, as I said, is a consultative meeting and in a consultative meeting, you have few people,” he added.

On the crisis over the ownership of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Obasanjo said the issue had been resolved finally, adding that Governors Oyinlola and Alao-Akala, at no point in time, fought over the matter.

“We have resolved that. They never fought. They have had argument and discussion; this time we have had final argument and discussion,” he said.