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How the Governors Forum used and dumped Goodluck Jonathan
Extensive investigations by Saharareporters have uncovered details of the secretive maneuvers and hig
h stakes politics of greed and dishonesty that resulted in members of Nigeria’s powerful “Governors Forum” frustrating Goodluck Jonathan’s acquisition of real political power. In what one of our sources described as “the invasion of Aguda House,” the governors met with “acting President” Jonathan and delivered to him a set of strange orders that effectively changed his status from hopeful substantive “President” of Nigeria to a lame-duck who may remain Vice President to ailing Nigerian ruler, Umaru Yar’adua. During a fiery meeting with Jonathan two nights ago, the governors queried his decision to appoint a Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC) without consulting them. They accused him of selecting men and women who are ‘paperweight’ in their various states. Above all, they said Jonathan overreached himself by app
ointing such a powerful committee with a Northern Christian and Southern Christian as Chairman and Deputy Chair respectfully. They also asked Jonathan to shelve the plan to invoke section 144 of the constitution at yesterday’s Federal Executive Council meeting, insisting that Yar’adua should continue as President while Jonathan should remain “Acting President.” Two sources told Saharareporters that Jonathan looked dazed and helpless. “He was especially stunned when the governor of his home state, Timipre Sylva, became very vocal and confrontational at the meeting,” said one of the sources. The governors also bitterly complained about recent press interviews by Minister of Information, Dora Akunyili, accusing her of causing “disaffection and overheating the polity” by her utterances. They asked Jonathan to censure her 
immediately. When the meeting was over, the governors took over the airwaves to announce a rash of decisions and orders given to Jonathan. As soon as they left, the PDP leadership also came up with its assault on Jonathan. The party leaders told Jonathan to forget the idea of running for presidency after his tenure as Acting President. “After what happened two nights ago, the governors have effectively stripped Jonathan of most of his power to take presidential decisions,” said a source close to one of the governors. He added: “They have also restored the Presidency t
o an unseen and unwell Yar’adua.” “It’s a victory for Turai Yar’adua who will wield those powers on behalf of her sick husband,” a diplomatic source told Saharareporters. “It’s a sad reversal for Nigerians and one hopes that it’s only a temporary setback.” The governors’ move to checkmate Jonathan has been described as an “expedient volte-face driven by greed and avarice.” A few weeks ago, the same state governors – some of Nigeria’s most rabid looters – boosted Jonathan’s path to presidential power when they met and decided that Yar’adua’s prolonged absence from Nigeria was overheating the system. The leader of the group, Bukola Saraki, was particularly miffed that he was rebuffed when he visited Saudi Arabia a few days after Yar’adua was evacuated from Nigeria on medical emergency. On his return to Nigeria, Governor Saraki used his father to push a series of campaign against Yar’adua through his “Northern Union” pressure group.
h stakes politics of greed and dishonesty that resulted in members of Nigeria’s powerful “Governors Forum” frustrating Goodluck Jonathan’s acquisition of real political power. In what one of our sources described as “the invasion of Aguda House,” the governors met with “acting President” Jonathan and delivered to him a set of strange orders that effectively changed his status from hopeful substantive “President” of Nigeria to a lame-duck who may remain Vice President to ailing Nigerian ruler, Umaru Yar’adua. During a fiery meeting with Jonathan two nights ago, the governors queried his decision to appoint a Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC) without consulting them. They accused him of selecting men and women who are ‘paperweight’ in their various states. Above all, they said Jonathan overreached himself by app
ointing such a powerful committee with a Northern Christian and Southern Christian as Chairman and Deputy Chair respectfully. They also asked Jonathan to shelve the plan to invoke section 144 of the constitution at yesterday’s Federal Executive Council meeting, insisting that Yar’adua should continue as President while Jonathan should remain “Acting President.” Two sources told Saharareporters that Jonathan looked dazed and helpless. “He was especially stunned when the governor of his home state, Timipre Sylva, became very vocal and confrontational at the meeting,” said one of the sources. The governors also bitterly complained about recent press interviews by Minister of Information, Dora Akunyili, accusing her of causing “disaffection and overheating the polity” by her utterances. They asked Jonathan to censure her 
immediately. When the meeting was over, the governors took over the airwaves to announce a rash of decisions and orders given to Jonathan. As soon as they left, the PDP leadership also came up with its assault on Jonathan. The party leaders told Jonathan to forget the idea of running for presidency after his tenure as Acting President. “After what happened two nights ago, the governors have effectively stripped Jonathan of most of his power to take presidential decisions,” said a source close to one of the governors. He added: “They have also restored the Presidency t
o an unseen and unwell Yar’adua.” “It’s a victory for Turai Yar’adua who will wield those powers on behalf of her sick husband,” a diplomatic source told Saharareporters. “It’s a sad reversal for Nigerians and one hopes that it’s only a temporary setback.” The governors’ move to checkmate Jonathan has been described as an “expedient volte-face driven by greed and avarice.” A few weeks ago, the same state governors – some of Nigeria’s most rabid looters – boosted Jonathan’s path to presidential power when they met and decided that Yar’adua’s prolonged absence from Nigeria was overheating the system. The leader of the group, Bukola Saraki, was particularly miffed that he was rebuffed when he visited Saudi Arabia a few days after Yar’adua was evacuated from Nigeria on medical emergency. On his return to Nigeria, Governor Saraki used his father to push a series of campaign against Yar’adua through his “Northern Union” pressure group.
