Amaechi, Jang and the rest of us
Against the constitution of the body, Amaechi insisted on an election to decide his successor even with him as a contestant. Majority of his colleagues however met and decided on a successor in the Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang. A new twist was introduced however, when the process “election” where Jang’s position was to be ratified saw Amaechi claiming to have emerged the new chairman even when the body’s constitution does not allow for a second term.
Not even the production of a list with the signatures of 19 of the 36 of his colleagues conceding leadership of the body to Jang will make Amaechi pave the way for his succesor to assume office. Rather, Rotimi Amaechi says he won the Friday “election” fair and square no matter what anybody might say to the contrary.
Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State, who has 18 of the 35 governors on his side on the day of the “election “ is also leaving nobody in doubt that he is the authentic leader of the group. The Jang group is alleging that the process that led to the emergence of the new chairman was free and transparent but blamed whatever may have resulted in the disagreement that came after the process on the decision of Amaechi as the incumbent chairman of the governors’ forum seeking re-election and presiding over the process at the same time. The group said it was like somebody being a judge in his own case.The group also informed that the Rivers State Governor does not even have the constitutional right to aspire to lead the body for another term. This may be the worst time yet in the history of the Forum that has been the rallying point for governors both of the ruling party and the opposition. Being together has given them the leeway to pursue the challenges confronting their different states in a non-partisan manner. This serves the cause of democracy.
Now it is doubtful the NGF can successfully operate to carry out its mandate if the current politicization of the body continues. It is within the context of this that one appreciates the call by Jang for reconciliation in the governors group. The Plateau governor obviously means well for the Forum and is enlisting the support of the leader of the other group to bring about amicable resolution of the NGF crisis. Jang, going by the press conference addressed by the chairman of his group, Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, apparently have more members on its side. This puts it clearly in the majority and makes it imperative for Amaechi and members of his group to cooperate with their colleagues loyal to the Plateau governor.
Beyond the need to reconcile the two NGF warring groups is the fact that the crisis was inflicted on the body by the Rivers governor who broke the main rule governing the emergence of the leadership. From the tenure of ex-Governor Adamu Abdullahi of Nassarawa State who led the NGF at inception, to that of former Governor Attah of Akwa Ibom State, then former Governor Lucky Igbinedion of Edo State and ex-Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State, there was no crisis in succession. The leadership evolved by consensus. This was deliberate. The then governors realised the divisive tendency of allowing election to decide their leader and clearly avoided it. At the end of the Saraki leadership of the NGF, the governors also took note of the north/south dichotomy that has become a permanent feature of our political affairs.
Hence they came up with an arrangement whereby the leadership of the NGF will alternate between the north and south, while the tenure of each incumbent was fixed at two years. As the then incumbent (Saraki) came from the north, the successor, automatically, should come from the south. It was on the strength of this that the Rivers governor came in the saddle as the NGF leader. Now, having assumed office in 2011, Amaechi’s tenure should end in 2013. But this was a gentleman’s agreement, and many Nigerian politicians are not used to keeping to gentleman’s agreement, especially where the issue at hand is continuing in power. In line with the gentleman’s agreement, two candidates, from the north, actually emerged to succeed the Rivers governor. They were Ibrahim Shema of Katsina and Isah Yuguda of Bauchi.
At this time, Amaechi insisted on re-election. When it became clear that Shema and Yuguda were not going to step down for each other thus narrowing down the chances of the north in the race for the NGF chairmanship, the northern governors called a meeting where both candidates were prevailed to withdraw, and Jang became the compromise candidate. Hence, the rejection of the magic of 24th of May which the Rivers governor is insisting on to proclaim himself the new leader of the NGF, though ordinarily, he was not entitled to vie for the position in the first instance.
Analysts have said the Rivers governor is preparing to be vice president to a northern candidate in the 2015 polls and he needed, by all means, the NGF to realise his ambition. This has become manifestly clear in the way he has broken the ‘gentleman’s agreement’ on succession in the NGF to continue in office, and to boost his profile ahead of the 2015 race. He would seem to have been blinded by personal interest, and he is thus ready to sacrifice the interest of the south-south against the backdrop of the yet undeclared ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan to run for second term. Many south-south leaders have branded him a traitor to the cause of the geo political zone .But it is not too late for the Rivers governor to return to the path of sanity and reconcile with the Jang group. This is the only way to keep a virile governors’ forum that serves the interest of democracy and the Nigerian people.
*Eyide Is a Lagos based Activist.
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