Drama In Presidential Villa As Kwankwaso Rejects Jonathan's Request.

There was a mild political drama at Nigeria’s
Presidential Villa on Sunday night when
Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State
rejected the request of President Goodluck
Jonathan to stand beside him as Tony Anenih,
the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the
People’s Democratic Party, read a communiqué
at the end of their “peace” meeting.
Mr. Kwankwaso was the spokesman of a group
of PDP governors who last Saturday walked out
of the venue of the party’s mini-convention.
He was at Aso Rock Villa to participate in a
meeting called by Mr. Jonathan to iron out
differences between the president’s faction of
the party and a splinter group of governors and
other party members who staged the dramatic
walkout.
At the end of the peace meeting, which was
attended by 16 governors, Mr. Anenih was
mandated to speak with reporters as Mr.
Jonathan and his deputy, Namadi Sambo, were
reduced to spectators. A presidential source
told SaharaReporters that President Jonathan
had beckoned on Kwankwaso to stand beside
him, but the Kano State governor refused.
“When Mr. President beckoned to Alhaji
Kwankwaso to stand by his side as Chief
Anenih read out the communiqué, the governor
raised his finger and shook it several times. He
then headed to the side of Chief Anenih,” said
the source. He added that Mr. Jonathan, though
clearly miffed, flashed a pained smile.
SaharaReporters learnt that Mr. Jonathan first
met behind closed doors with former President
Olusegun Obasanjo for close to two hours in the
private residence of the president, and then met
with 16 PDP governors, including four of the
group that walked away from the mini-
convention. The splinter group, led by former
Vice President Abubakar Atiku, subsequently
met at the Musa Yar’Adua Convention Center in
Abuja and announced the formation of the “New
PDP.” The rebellious governors include
Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, Rabiu
Kwankwaso of Kano State, Murtala Nyako of
Adamawa, and Abdulfatai Ahmed of Kwara
State.
Mr. Anenih read the communiqué flanked by
President Jonathan on the right and Governor
Kwankwaso on the left, with other governors
behind them. The chairman of the fractious
party’s board of trustees stated that “the
leadership of the party and the PDP governors
met today to discuss the incident that occurred
during the PDP special convention on the 31st
of August 2013, whereby some state
delegations walked out of the convention
ground to announce a faction of the party.” He
added: “The meeting was smooth and
encouraging and the discussions will continue
on Tuesday with all the aggrieved governors in attendance