With the storm over the shift of polls yet to settle, the
Presidency has run into a fix over what to do with four of
its governors said to be secretly working for the success of
the opposition in the rescheduled elections.
Reportedly, it was learnt yesterday that the Presidency
became convinced that the four governors were not
sincerely working for the success of the ruling party after
reviewing their activities in relations to the presidential
campaigns in their respective states.
It was gathered that an appraisal carried out by security
agents and placed at the disposal of the ruling party clearly
indicated that PDP would lose election in the affected states
because of the activities of the governors.
A competent source told the reporters in Abuja that both
Jonathan and his party were upset that the governors were
hiding under the party to work for the APC, thereby making
it difficult for them to be promptly dealt with in line with the
constitution of the party.
The source said that although the action of the f had been
discussed extensively by the Presidency and the PDP, the
party and the president were in a fix on what to do with
‘traitors’ because of the impending elections.
The President is said to be particularly irked by the action
of one of the PDP governors from the North East, who did
not only give the sum of N25 million in support of the
opposition candidate campaign but also directed his
officials to give maximum logistics support to the Buhari
Campaign team during their campaign in the state on
February 3 this year.
The same governor, it was learnt, however showed what a
presidency source described as a ‘lukewarm disposition’ to
the Jonathan’s Campaign team by not mobilising enough
support for the presidential rally in his state and arriving
late to the venue of the campaign.
The governor is said to have unwittingly exposed disloyalty
and disdain to the President and his party by coming to the
venue of the rally six minutes before the arrival of the
presidential team, thereby leaving several things undone and
ending up embarrassing the first family and his party when
they went to campaign in the state on January 31.
The governor is reported to have delayed the inauguration of
the Presidential Campaign Team in the state until the eve of
the presidential visit thereby making the team headed by a
former Senator from the state, to hit the rocks in his effort
to ensure a successful rally in the agricultural state. As a
result of the sympathy of a North East governor for the APC,
he is said to have displayed a lackadaisical attitude towards
the visit of Jonathan to his state last month.
During the visit, the president was said to have been miffed
by the near empty stadium that he noticed upon his arrival
for the campaign in the state that is close to a desert.
According to reporters, it was learnt that the Presidency,
was also hurt that none of the governors had shown
remorse over their ‘betrayal’ by not speaking out against
some of the wrongs openly committed by their agents
against the presidential campaign teams in their respective
states.
It was gathered that the Presidency was seriously
disappointed that none of the affected governors had openly
condemned the stoning of its presidential campaign train in
their states while some of them turned round to blame some
senior officers of the Presidency for the attacks.
The APC, which is fully aware of the tacit support of the
four governors, almost went to make a formal
announcement that they were set to defect but they were
said to have persuaded the party not to do so, promising
instead to quietly work and deliver their states to the
opposition because of Buhari’s factor.
Asked what the Presidency would be doing to sanction the
four governors, the source hinted that the Presidency was
confused on what to do to them given the need to put its
house in order and pursue the elections as a united party.
The source said that it would be counterproductive for the
Presidency and the PDP to take any disciplinary action
against the governors at this stage since the elections were
already around the corner.
The development came as it emerged last night that the
move to ‘discipline’ Prof Jega for alleged sympathy for the
APC would be dropped if he jettisons the use of the card
readers and permanent voter cards, PVCs for the elections.
Source: VANGUARD
