How Buhari, APC, Turned Aso Rock To Arm Twisting Centre; Continues To Coerce PDP Governors

By Akinwale Kasali

State Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have accused President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, APC, of reducing Nigeria’s seat of power, Aso Rock, to its Secretariat.

According to the Governors who met in Bauchi State on Monday, not only has the APC done that, they have commandered the Villa, which belongs to all Nigerians, and made it the venue where they invite PDP Governors and Chieftains, and arm twists them to defect to the APC.

“Mr President and APC has turned the Presidential Villa that belongs to all Nigerians into the new APC headquarters, where coerced PDP members are being paraded at intervals”, the Governors accused.

This allegation comes amidst the continued speculation that the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, who hosted the meeting, is on his way to dumping the PDP for the APC.

A few months ago, on a trouble-shooting visit to Calabar, Cross River State, Mohammed had assured his colleague, Professor Ben Ayade, who was having a difficult time in the Party that: “Anywhere you go, I go.”

Ayade has since dumped the PDP for the APC, and the strong rumour is that Mohammed would join Ayade.

In the past few months, PDP has lost three Governors to the APC. They include Ebonyi, Cross River State and Zamfara Governors – Dave Umahi, Ayade and  Bello Matawalle. On each occasion, the Governors quickly visited Buhari to celebrate with him.

In its communique, the Governors condemned this trend which they dismissef as “the underhand tactics to arm twist some PDP Governors and other stakeholders to join the APC, a political party that has wrecked Nigeria’s economy, turned Nigeria into a killing field, and has nothing to offer Nigerians but misery and bad Governance.”

The Governors also asked that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, be left alone to deploy appropriate technologies to make sure that the vote of every Nigerian counted.

The meeting had a full house, which also included the embattled Deputy Governor of Zamfara State, Mahdi Mohammed Aliyu Gusau, who refused to defect with the Governor, Bello Muhammad Matawalle.

Following, the full text communique from the PDP Governors’ Meeting.

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF THE 11TH MEETING OF THE PDP GOVERNORS’ FORUM HELD ON MONDAY, 26TH JULY, 2021 AT BAUCHI

Governors elected on the platform of the PDP met in Bauchi, Bauchi State on 26th July 2021. The meeting deliberated once again on the state of the nation, reviewed the deteriorating state of our democracy, the economic and security situation in the country, the state of the PDP as the main opposition platform in Nigeria, and arrived at the following decisions.

1. On the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, the Governors identified with the need for a free, fair and credible elections in the country and called on the National Assembly to entrench Electronic transmission of results of elections in the nation’s electoral jurisprudence.
2. The meeting requested Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the only body empowered by the Constitution to conduct elections, to deploy appropriate technologies necessary to ensure that the votes of every Nigerian is counted and made to count. The meeting further called on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), especially, the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd (NIGCOMSAT), Telephone Companies (Telcos) and all relevant stakeholders to ensure that universal access and service of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are provided especially in rural, un-served and under-served areas of the country before the 2023 General elections.
3. The meeting condemned the attempt to foist on all political parties, one method of conducting primaries, that is, by DIRECT METHOD ONLY, through the Electoral Act Amendment Bill. The Governors noted that the method is prone to massive rigging, as evidenced by a situation where President Buhari scored about 15 million votes in the 2018 APC Direct Primaries only to score 15 million votes from the entire country in the 2019 General Election. The Governors advised that political parties, should be allowed to decide whether to use direct or indirect method of conducting primaries as part of internal democracy in political parties.
4. The Governors reiterated, once again, the need for the NNPC and other revenue generating agencies of Government to strictly abide by the Constitution by remitting all their Revenue less cost of Production into the Federation Account as provided for by S.162 of the Constitution.
5. The meeting condemned, once again, the use of underhand tactics to arm twist some PDP Governors and other stakeholders to join the APC, a political party that has wrecked Nigeria’s economy, turned Nigeria into a killing field and has nothing to offer Nigerians but misery and bad governance.
6. The Governors condemned Mr President and APC for turning the Presidential Villa, that belongs to all Nigerians, into the new APC headquarters, where coerced PDP members are being paraded at intervals.
7. On the economy, the meeting admonished the APC Federal Government to collaborate more with State Governments to stem the unemployment scourge affecting the youths of Nigeria, through technology and increased production in all fields of endeavour, reiterating that Government should stop paying lip service on the Ease of Doing Business, as foreign direct investments have continued to fall partly due to obstacles placed on foreign companies wishing to invest in Nigeria. A glaring example is that of FACEBOOK who insisted on investing in Nigeria rather than Ghana, and is being frustrated by regulatory authorities.
8. On security of lives and properties, in addition to our earlier recommendations, it is time to bring the activities of bandits, kidnappers and terrorists to an end, through increased use of military equipment, traditional means of conflict resolution and technology for surveillance and the development of the political will to flush them out. Kidnapping, banditry and terrorism ARE NOT BUSINESS VENTURES as claimed by APC but heinous STATE CRIMES, that is destroying the Nigerian economy, the educational and social future of our children and causing significant social upheavals in society, the PDP Governors admonished.
9. The PDP Governors enjoined all Nigerians of goodwill to take advantage of the ongoing registration of Voters by INEC to register to vote, thereby arming themselves with the necessary tools in the struggle to RESCUE NIGERIA from the APC maladministration.

Furthermore, the general public, especially our Youths and Women are implored to use the opportunity of the PDP E-REGISTRATION exercise which will kick off soon, to register as PDP members, while PDP Members should update their membership electronically.

10. The Governors thanked the Chief Host, His Excellency, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohamed, CON, of Bauchi State for providing a conducive atmosphere for the meeting and for the huge difference he has made in provision of infrastructure and general welfare of citizens of Bauchi State, the Pearl of Tourism.

In attendance are:

Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, CFR – Sokoto State  – Chairman

Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu -Abia State – Vice Chairman

Gov. Udom Emmanuel  – Akwa

Ibom State – Member

Gov. Sen. Douye Diri  – Bayelsa State  – Member

Gov. Samuel Ortom -Benue State -Member

Gov. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa  – Delta

State  – Member

Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi  – Enugu State  – Member

Gov. Nyesom Wike, CON  – Rivers State  – Member

Gov. Engr. Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde  – Oyo State  – Member

Gov. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri  -Adamawa State -Member

Gov. Godwin Obaseki – Edo State  -Member

Gov. Bala Mohammed -Bauchi State  – Member

Gov. Arc Darius Ishaku  -Taraba State -Member

Deputy Gov. Mahdi Mohd     -Zamfara State -Deputy Governor