That was the first time Nyako would
meet with Jonathan alone since the crises rocking the PDP and the NGF started.
While speaking with State House
correspondents at the end of his meeting with Jonathan, Nyako insisted that
Jang did not have any claim to the NGF chairmanship because he did not win the
election.
When asked specifically whether the
governors resolved at their recent meeting with Obasanjo that both Jang and
Amaechi should step down as the chairman of the NGF, the governor said, “You
are saying Jang should step down, step down for what? Did he win the election?
What we are saying here is that if he is going to step down because he is
second winner, then that is their business and it is not the business of others
or the winner to tell him to step down. He is number two, he got the second
highest votes and that is the way forward. Step down for what? From number two
to where? Number three or four?”
Nyako said the crisis in the NGF was
unnecessary because it was clear that Amaechi won the election.
He said one of the criteria of
electing a leader for the forum was that their chairman must be trustworthy.
He said while the governors wanted a
chairman that would have a cordial relationship with the President, they could
not be comfortable with a chairman that would turn himself to the President’s
“yes man.”
Nyako said, “The election in the
governors’ forum has become an issue. It should not be an issue. When you say
16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, even someone who is in elementary school knows which
one is higher.
“If one group got 19 votes and the
other got 16, in a democracy even in the eyes of the people in elementary school,
they know that 19 is higher than 16. It should not be turned into a
controversy.”
When asked whether the NGF issue was
discussed in the meeting with Obasanjo, he simply said, “It was part of it but
you should understand the rationale.”
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