Five PDP govs meet Obasanjo over Jonathan

Five governors of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Thursday held a closed-door meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo at his residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Governors Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Liyel Imoke (Cross Rivers), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu (Niger) and Sule Lamido (Jigawa) arrived Mr. Obasanjo’s home at about 12:30p.m. and went straight into a meeting which lasted for about three hours.

However, sources hinted that, the visit may be to broker peace between the former leader and President Goodluck Jonathan.

The two men have maintained a strained relationship lately with Mr. Obasanjo openly questioning Mr. Jonathan’s stewardship, criticising his record on corruption and his handling of the Boko Haram crisis.

Speaking at the end of the meeting, Mr. Obasanjo told journalists that the governors were around to discuss with him how to salvage the nation from its current economic and security problems.

The former president said his recent comments on the state of Nigeria, was not aimed at running anybody down but rather to see to how the situations could be rectified.

“First of all thank my colleagues and my brothers who have decided to pay me a special visit.

They were concerned about what you may call the situation of the nation, security, economy. I have raised in my own public pronouncement in recent times not to castigate anybody, not to bad-mouth anybody, not to run anybody down but out of genuine concern for the situation of this country and that is the same thing that has brought them and I want to thank them,” he said.

“When we looked at these issues closely, very objectively and we came to the conclusion that yes we have a bad situation but not irretrievably bad. Something can still be done and what now is required is the will and the courage to do something when and how it needs to be done,” Mr. Obasanjo said.