Governors Forum: Plot to remove Amaechi as chairman fails

By Henry Umoru

ABUJA- PRIOR to Wednesday’s meeting of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, strong indications emerged that there were alleged plans by the Presidency to remove the Chairman of the forum and governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi.

But at yesterday’s meeting which took place at the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro with thirty three governors in attendance, the state executives rather than address a replacement for the NGF’s chairman as expected from some quarters, x-rayed the administration of the forum and the issue of polio in some states of the federation.

Amaechi who took over from the Kwara State governor and now Senator representing Kwara Central, Senator Bukola Saraki is expected to round off by June this year.

At the meeting which entered into the early hours of Thursday, a new person ought to have signified his interest in the chairmanship position, but surprisingly, no one did.

It will be recalled that at the first meeting of the forum this year, a vote of confidence was passed on governor Amaechi, just as political events in the last few weeks have pitched the Rivers governor with the Presidency with the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe as the arrow head.

There are also insinuations that ahead of 2015 Presidential election, governor Amaechi who would be rounding off his eight year term as governor may be working to clinch as a running mate to a presidential candidate from the north. This, it was gathered, may not go well with the Presidency and President Goodluck Jonathan who it is believed may still run as president of the country.

Meanwhile, The governors at Wednesday’s meeting  appealed for solidarity among themselves to finally eradicate polio in Nigeria. The governors also agreed to make functional some of its organs for effective administration of the forum’s activities.

The  governors  in a communiqué said “members  exhaustively discussed the administration of the forum and resolved that all organs of the forum be made functional at the next meeting,’’

According to the forum’s Chairman, Chibuike Amaechii, the governors commended the governors for their resolve to continue with their polio eradication programme in the face of many challenges and re-affirmed the forum`s solidarity with the affected states

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State who spoke to journalists  at the end of the meeting, stressed  that the issue of polio was becoming embarrassing to the nation. This he said, was so because Nigerians who travelled to Saudi Arabia particularly, were  now “ being subjected to some kind of disinfectants’’.