Govs reject Shema as sole NGF chairmanship candidate

The battle for the control of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) between the Presidency and the incumbent Chairman and Rivers State Governor, Hon Chibuike Amaechi, has been moved to next month, as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors have refused to adopt Katsina State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Shema, as a consensus candidate. Amaechi is seeking a second term in office, while the Presidency is backing the candidature of Shema.


Both groups were unable to muster the required majority edge to install their preferred choice at the PDP governors meeting on Thursday. Determined to oust Amaechi, the Presidency is working in cahoots with some PDP governors to actuaalise the project. Part of the strategies is to ensure that the meeting in May does not hold, until there is a certainty of a favourable tide. In pursuit of this objective, at least three governors have been saddled with the task.

They include Akwa Ibom State governor, Obong Godswill Akpabio: Bayelsa State Governor, Hon Henry Seriake Dickson and Benue State governor, Mr. Gabriel Suswan. Efforts by the Presidency at the PDP Governors Forum to secure an endorsement of Shema as the consensus candidate for the May elections failed to pull through. When the consensus issue was tabled at the meeting, it did not register the desired overwhelming support of the PDP governors present at the meeting, leading to a stalemate.

Sources close to the meeting told Saturday Sun that majority of those who spoke preferred a contest rather than consensus. Minutes of proceedings of the meeting, which was held at the Akwa Ibom State governors’ Lodge in Abuja, confirmed the development. Extracts of the minutes indicates: “Opinion was generally divided on the issue of choosing a consensus candidate for the chairmanship position of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. After an exhaustive consultation and deliberation, members did not agree on a consensus candidate. Finally, members agreed that Rt. Hon Rotimi Amaechi, governor of Rivers State and Dr. Ibrahim Shema, governor of Katsina State be presented as candidates for the chairmanship position of the Nigeria Governors Forum.”

The decision of the governors stemmed from their apparent distaste of the perceived involvement of the presidency in what many considered this internal affair. The weeks leading to the elections in May will determine where the pendulum will swing, as the combatants intensify lobbying and possible arm-twisting to secure advantage. This is the first time in Nigeria’s history that the forum will be enmeshed in leadership tussle.