According to ThisDay, it is learnt that a perceived renege by President Goodluck Jonathan, who is the national leader of the party, as well as the national chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu'azu, and Senate President David Mark had made the governors angry, with some of them said to be considering leaving PDP.
A meeting is said to be scheduled for Tuesday night between the PDP governors and the president for the former to try to get further assurances and commitment from him before his ratification as PDP candidate for next year’s presidential election at the December 10 national convention of the party.
ThisDay gathered that the governor of the South-east state of Ebonyi, Mr. Martin Elechi, had already concluded plans to defect to the opposition All Progressives Congress due to the collapse of the alleged political deal. Elechi’s grouse is the PDP National Working Committee’s apparent pander to the political wishes of the deputy governor, Mr. Dave Umahi, which has effectively given the party’s state structure to him.
Apart from virtually being prevented from presenting his nominee, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, as PDP candidate for next year's governorship election in the state, with the NWC’s acceptance of Umahi’s ward delegates list, the deputy governor’s men won most of the tickets in the House of the Assembly primaries. Umahi is believed to be backed by Secretary to the Government of the Federation Anyim Pius Anyim and former Governor Sam Egwu, two of whom are from Ebonyi State.
The rumour is strong in Ebonyi that if the president does not intervene urgently, Elechi may be heading for APC soon.
Besides collapse of the alleged deal with Jonathan, many of the governors have lost the capacity to present their preferred nominees as PDP candidates and have, thus, also lost the capacity to determine their successors.
About eight PDP governors serving their final terms are currently seeking election to the senate. Since the deal was struck about a month ago for the national leadership of the party to concede the senatorial tickets to the governors, there have been several dissenting voices, particularly, among the senators.
The highpoint of the high wire political intrigues was Friday's curious withdrawal of Governors Emmanuel Uduaghan and Sullivan Chime of Delta and Enugu states, respectively, from the senatorial race.
A governor from one of the northern states, who did not want to be named, told some newsmen that his South-east colleague "is already on his way to the opposition" as a result of the shabby treatment meted out to the governors.
The governor said, “The PDP we used to know is not the one we are seeing now. The party is rotten and this is very shameful and unfortunate; some of us feel like crying for the party we once cherished as the biggest party in Africa.
"It is most ridiculous for the president to reach an agreement with us and renege or rather not to know what is happening when governors are being pushed here and there by forces who are merely interested in their personal benefits.
"But I can assure you that we have decided to unravel what is really the issue because we suspect foul play in all that is going on within the party. Imagine forcing sitting governors to withdraw from the race simply because someone somewhere is threatened by the presence of former governors who are desirous of being senators.”
The source described the situation as “the height of unseriousness on the part of any political party that intends to win next year. This matter has to be tabled may be on Tuesday before the president because there are reports we need to confirm, that this whole is being oiled by the senate president and the national chairman.”
Source: ThisDay
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