PDP Goes Tough on Governors who want to go to Senate

Strong indications have emerged that some second term governors, elected on the platform of the PDP who are eyeing the Senate in 2015, may have some hurdles to cross ahead of nomination. A meeting between the PDP national chairman, Dr Adamu Mu’azu, and governors elected on the platform of the party, which took place on Wednesday night at his residence, failed to reach a consensus on the vexed issue of endorsement and automatic tickets for first term governors, Senate-bound governors and their preferred successors. They are expected to reconvene over the weekend, but a party source said ‘acceptable conditions’ are likely to be given to the outgoing governors who want the PDP ticket to go to the Senate. “They cannot have everything they want,” the source, a member of the party’s National Working Committee told a team of journalists in Abuja over the weekend. According to him, the party was worried that even though it desired that some its ranking senators returned to the Senate in 2015, the activities of some of the governors had become ‘big constraints on the way of the party’s desire.’ As the party tries to manage this development, a south-south governor (names withheld) and the senator representing his senatorial district openly confronted themselves before President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa last week over the Senate ticket for the zone. According to Leadership, aside confirming that there were indeed pressures from the outgoing governors on Mu’azu and President Jonathan over the issue of automatic senatorial tickets for the two-term governors, the NWC member disclosed that the national leadership of the party had concluded plans to meet with the governors to reel certain conditions. “The truth is that the pressure has always been there since the issue of the president’s endorsement was concluded at our last NEC meeting. It has taken a very dangerous dimension because of our desire to strengthen our National Assembly, especially the Senate, so that the polity could benefit from their wealth of experience, but the governors and their desire to all go to the Senate is setting a big constraint on our desire for this. “While we believe that the governors are our field commanders, we cannot say in the same breath that our senators are no more useful and should be discarded; so we have outlined some acceptable conditions that will guide both the governors and the senators; because, especially the governors, they cannot have everything for themselves without consideration for others. “We are going to tell them politely that if a governor wishes to go to the Senate, fine, but such one cannot be the one to anoint his successor; and, if at all, let the senator any governor wishes to replace also take the governorship slot,” he explained. The disclosure by the NWC member came on the heels of the report that a south-south governor had lured the senator representing his (the governor’s) zone to Aso Villa to see the president. According to him, as soon as they settled for discussions, the governor told President Jonathan to ‘look for something for the senator’ after the elections because he (the governor) was already set to supplant the senator at the National Assembly. “It was very embarrassing that the senator had to pointedly tell the governor that if he wanted to go the Senate, he (senator) was ready to be governor. It took the intervention of the president to calm frayed nerves because it was becoming a heated argument between them in the presence of Mr President,” he said. It was gathered that the governor did not take the stands of the senator because he had already endorsed someone to take over from him in 2015. It has emerged that in Enugu State, Governor Sullivan Chime is set to replace Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu. In Delta, it is Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan versus Senator James Manager even as Cross River State governor Liyel Imoke has not hidden his plans to replace Senator Ndoma-Egba with Hon John Eno. Akwa Ibom State governor Godswill Akpabio is trying to displace Senator Aloysius Etok just as Benue State governor Gabriel Suswam is battle ready to upstage former PDP national chairman, Senator Barnabas Gemade. In Niger State, Senator Nuhu Zagbayi’s stay in the Senate might be abridged as Governor Babangida Aliyu has indicated an interest to take it over... PDP, please ensure there is a level playing field for all aspirants.