Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on political matters Ahmed Gulak, yesterday said those demands are not consitutional.
He spoke against the background of Tuesday night’s peace talks at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
There were strong indications last night that President Jonathan and the aggrieved G-7 governors will meet again on Sunday to continue the peace talks.
There was concern yesterday on alleged determination of some forces in the Presidency to isolate Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and make him a scapegoat of the crises.
It was learnt that although the President made some concessions at the peace talks on Tuesday night at the Presidential Villa, he was said to be non-committal on all issues relating to Amaechi.
The President was at the session with the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, the Chairman of PDP Governors Forum, Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Governors Liyel Imoke (Cross River) and Idris Wada (Kogi).
On the side of the G-7 governors were Amaechi, Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Babangida Aliyu (Niger) and Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto).
Sources last night gave different insights into what happened at the session at the Presidential Villa
One of the sources said: “The grievances of the governors were tabled and revisited one by one by all those at the meeting.
“When the issue of party structure in each of the affected states came up, the overriding interest of the PDP was put into the consideration and the President and his team agreed that the authentic party structure should be restored in Adamawa and Kano states.
“As for Rivers State, the President and his team advised all the parties to withdraw their suits in court to resolve the matter.”
It was learnt that although the President admitted that the suspension of Amaechi was illegal and the required 30 days had elapsed, everything was predicated on the resolution of disputes in court.
There was suspicion by the G-7 governors that the Presidency came with a mindset to resolve issues except the crisis in Rivers. “They are trying to isolate Amaechi to deal with him.
“Everybody has been wondering why the President’s body language was different on Rivers State. Jonathan was non-committal on the solutions to Rivers crisis.
“The President’s ambivalence on Rivers crisis is making the G-7 governors to be circumspect.
“The G-7 governors insisted on the resolution of the crisis in Rivers State.”
On the row in the Nigeria Governors Forum, the source added: “Those with the President advised Amaechi to step down. But Amaechi was straightforward in his response when he said: ‘I won’t step down.’
Regarding 2015 poll, one of the governors from the North said he had been in four meetings, including at Ethiopia and the United States where Jonathan said he would not contest.
The source added: “When the tension was too much, it was agreed that 2015 poll should be put on the agenda at the next meeting on Sunday.
“Also, Tukur’s fate will be discussed on Sunday.
Source: the Nation
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