2015: 5 PDP govs, Obasanjo in Closed-door Meeting

• My criticisms not targeted at pulling down Jonathan’s administration –Ex-president

From SEGUN OLATUNJI, Abeokuta

No fewer than five state governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday met with former president Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta, Ogun State over the 2015 general elections and the state of the nation.

The five PDP governors, Dr. Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) and Issa Yuguda (Bauchi), met behind closed-doors with Obasanjo inside his Presidential Hilltop mansion.

Obasanjo has, however, said despite the myriad of problems confronting the country, the situation was still redeemable.

The former president has also cleared the air on his recent comments on the state of the nation, saying his outbursts were not aimed at rubbishing or pulling down the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration.

The PDP governors arrived at Obasanjo’s Abeokuta mansion at about 12.22 p.m and left at about 2.50 p.m.

Our correspondent gathered that the discussions between the five PDP governors centred on the situation within the PDP and the 2015 general elections.

The governors were also said to have impressed it upon the former president why it had become imperative for him to throw his weight behind the party and President Jonathan in the 2015 elections.

Briefing newsmen at the end of their over two-hour meeting, Obasanjo told newsmen that the PDP governors visited him to discuss the state of the nation.

He stressed that the current situation in the country was not “irretrievably bad,” adding that what was required to tackle it was the will and courage of those holding the reins of governance.

Obasanjo, however, stated that his recent comments on the situation in the country were not targeted at running down the government of the day. He said his outbursts were out of “genuine concern” for the country.

He also stressed that solving the nation’s problems required the efforts and contributions of all citizens.

He said: “They (governors) have decided to pay me a special visit. They were concerned about what you may call the situation of the nation, security, economy and we discussed these issues. In fact, most of them, I have raised in my own public pronouncements in recent times; not to castigate anybody, not to bad-mouth anybody, not to run anybody down, but out of genuine concern for the situation of the country and that is the same thing that has brought them. And we looked at these issues very closely, very objectively and we came to the conclusion that yes, we have a bad situation but it is not irretrievably bad. Something can still be done and now what it required is the will and the courage to do something when and how it needs to be done. We agreed on that and we also agreed that yes, I appreciate their coming to me because of the respect and the honour they have for me. But this task is not a task for one man; it is not even a task for one group. It is a task which requires all hands on deck.”

Also speaking, Governor Akpabio said he and his colleagues deemed it fit to consult with Obasanjo as a former president on the nation’s problems.

He said Nigerians were determined to reposition the country, adding that in spite of the challenges, the people must work together to redeem the situation.

Governor Aliyu, however, said the governors benefitted “tremendously” from their consultation with Obasanjo.

He said the problems of the country were beyond partisan politics, urging Nigerians to come together to put the country on the right footing.