The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) outgoing governors have instigated a secret plot to checkmate President Goodluck Jonathan.
The governors allegedly plan to challenge Jonathan’s grip on the party after the handover on May 29.
They said the president should either allow internal democracy or else they may split the PDP by forming a new party.
Apart from being the new chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the PDP, Jonathan has also taken over the National Working Committee (NWC) with his trusted ally, Prince Uche Secondus, as the acting national chairman.
According to a source who asked for anonymity, most outgoing governors and the remaining PDP governors are uncomfortable with the takeover of the party’s structure by Jonathan.
“We are all waiting for May 29 when the President would have handed over to the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, to talk about the future of the PDP.
“When the President does not have executive powers to direct the party anyhow, we will all be on the same page and tell ourselves the home truth.
“So, the governors are also laying ambush for Jonathan to step down from power before striking and drawing a line on how to reshape the PDP. Their demand is simple: The PDP must be reformed through internal democracy.
“If there is no internal democracy, then the party may split as long as Jonathan sticks to the control of the structure of the party.
“Nobody has ever owned the PDP and none can own it. Where Jonathan is in total control, we will opt for the realignment of forces in the polity and a new national party will emerge. Then, Jonathan can then become the PDP’s undertaker.
One outgoing governor said: “On the reformation of the PDP, you should wait till after May 29.”
There have been suggestions that the governors are pushing for either Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa state or Governor Ibrahim Shema as the next national chairman of the party.
Meanwhile, indications emerged on Friday that the president had struck a deal with members of the National Working Committee (NWC) to force the ex-national chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, to resign.
A highly-placed party source said: “There was an understanding with the presidency that Muazu would go, but NWC members would remain for strategic reasons. Having fulfilled our own part of the bargain, the President is also keeping to it.
“This was the context in which Secondus spoke at the Presidential Villa on Thursday when he said NWC members would not resign. It is part of politics; there is nothing we can do.
“The alternative is for all the NWC members to go in one swoop which will create a big vacuum in the party.”
Meanwhile, PDP governors had called on Governor Godswill Akpabio to resign from the post of chairman of the party’s governors’ forum.
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