Nigerian Governors: Behold the New Face of Power Brokers

For some time now, the Nigerian Governors' Forum under the chairmanship of the Kwara State governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki has been dictating the pace in the power equation of the country. From the time that Obong Victor Attah, former governor of Akwa Ibom State held sway as the chairman of the Forum to its headship by former governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Adamu, the Forum had never wielded much influence in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as it does now. However, this wasn't the trend when Chiefs Audu Ogbeh, Chief Barnabas Gemade and Dr. Ahmadu Ali served as the party's national chairmen. At that time, the governors' relevance was subsumed under the authority of the party.

This accounted for why the then governors were helpless when their colleague and former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chris Ngige was kidnapped allegedly on the order of Chief Chris Uba in July 2003. Before now, the party's hierarchy simply gave directives and the governors obeyed. But things have largely changed beginning from March 8, 2008 when the governors midwifed the emergence of Prince Vincent Ogbulafor as the National Chairman of the party. Even though Ogbulafor's chances at the chairmanship race of the party were relatively slim, the governors' support for Ogbulafor as against Dr. Sam Egwu, candidate of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, his victory was a forgone conclusion, since then, the PDP governors have become factors to reckon with in this dispensation.

Upon the prolonged absence of President Umaru Yar’Adua from the country as a result of ill health, the polity was heated up by protracted agitations. The two arms of the National Assembly looked confused as regards the roles to play to end the crisis. But as soon as the governors visited the lawmaking institution on the imbroglio, both chambers quickly passed resolutions empowering Vice President Gooduck Jonathan as Acting President. They were said to have met at the Kwara State Governors' Lodge in Abuja where a decision to urge the Nationa Assembly to empower Jonathan to act as the President was taken.

The Senate first passed its resolution directing Jonathan to act as the President on February 9, 2010. The House of Representatives which had hitherto not been forthcoming also passed a similar resolution same day. Before the resolutions, the governors had visited Jonathan a day after their meeting, where they assured him of their resolve to ensure that the National Assembly pass the resolutions. Then they proceeded from there to the house of the Senate President, Senator David Mark, where they handed him a copy of their resolution. But the governors did not stop there, rather they used the opportunity of a break session at the time to galvanise the support of other senators from their respective states.

But the Senate played a fast one on the governors. On Monday night, the leadership of the Senate met and decided to outsmart the governors so as not to be seen to have been influenced by them. At the meeting, it was agreed that a political solution must be reached and the meeting quickly fine-tuned the motion that finally saw the vice president assuming the role of the Acting President.

It was also gathered that the senators met on Monday night at the residence of the Senate President and agreed to resolve the Constitutional dilemma created by the absence of the ailing President through a political solution following the pressure from prominent Nigerians. They resolved to base their decisions on Yar’Adua’s interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), where he admitted being on medical vacation and hence,agreeing that a written declaration was no longer necessary. At Tuesday’s meeting with the 36 governors, led by their Chairman, Saraki, Mark pleaded for understanding on the amendment.

The governors' role did not end there. Again, when pressure mounted on the Executive Council of the Federation to invoke Section 144 of the 1999 Constitution to declare Yar’Adua incapacitated. The governors were summoned to a rescue mission. First, the newspapers were awash with reports that EXCOF might last week invoke Section 144 of the Constitution to declare Yar’Adua incapacitated .There was also the information that PDP would first meet to take a position and thereafter pass same to the larger body of the Governors’ Forum for approval.

Indeed, the Governor’s Forum was summoned to intervene in the planned move of EXCOF. Eventually, the governors met and declared that the status quo should remain and so it was.

After over four hours in the meeting, the governors in a communique, reiterated their support for, saying they would "continue to support the Acting President and pray for the speedy recovery of Mr. President as he recuperates," declaring that the return of the president to the country would not change the resolutions by the National Assembly on the acting Presidency.Nevertheless, their action or intervention put paid to the much talked about move by EXCOF to determine the capacity or incapacity of the President to continue in office. Still swimming in the ocean of influence, the governors dared Jonathan again last week, bluntly advising him to forget about the Presidency come 2011.

From these episodes, one fact is clear - that the Nigerian Governors' Forum can no longer be undermined in the political equation of the country. This is also bearing in mind that most of the ministers were nominated by this new power block. Apart from nominating the ministers, the governors are largely responsible for who among the members of the National Assembly will get a re-election ticket from his constituency or who again will returns to the National Assembly without the support of his state governor.

But questions are being asked if the Forum has totally castrated the powers of PDP leaders. The party's National Publicity of PDP, Prof. Ahmed Alkali, was swift to respond. “What ever the governors do is after consultations with the party. The states where the governors govern are part and parcels of the PDP family. They are political leaders in their states and whatever we decide to do is part of the consultation with the governors. The party gave birth to the governors. They are the products of the party and therefore whatever decision reached is in consultation with the party,” he claimed.

By and large, it is no longer doubtful that the emergence of the next president of the country would be determined by the governors. There were reports last week that the governors were offended after Jonathan appointed members of the Advisory Council without consulting them, a situation which observers viewed as dangerous. To this end, some critics argued that the anger of the governors towards Jonathan implied that they want to be at forefront of Jonathan's government. This development also shows that unlike the case in 2007 when former President Olusegun Obasanjo solely determined the emergence of Yar'Adua as the presidential candidate of the PDP, the governors are prepared to play the gods on the personality of who becomes the next candidate and by extension the president of the country.

Still waxing in the euphoria of enormous powers, the governors have also dared to obstruct the proposed electoral reforms being championed by the National Assembly. Last week, they boldly rejected propositions that the next general election be scheduled for November to guarantee the conclusion of election petitions before the swearing in of election winners . Instead of the six months' proposal between the time that the election will be held and the time of swearing in, the governors want the election slated for January 2011.
At any rate, all eyes are open to see if the National Assembly will again allow the governors to dictate the pace on their exclusive preserve to institutionalise electoral reforms.
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=168015

Can we so quickly forget things? Have we forgotten how even Baba Iyabo was humbled by the Governors ? He knelt and begged them when he was going for his second term and decided to ditch Atiku.
They made him go with Atiku. He in turn, when 'selected', unleashed Ribadu. It is not a new development. The Governors are very powerful. They can hurt any Political heavy weight in their states refusing him to see the lights in Abuja.

Good work!