2015 Presidential Election - PDP trying to woo defected Governors to avoid run-off poll

The Presidency has been in dilemma over how to handle former President Olusegun Obasanjo following calls for his expulsion from the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) for alleged anti-party activities.

The PDP is also ruing the defection of five of its governors and other stalwarts to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Some top shots of the ruling party and presidency officials have already launched secret moves to reopen talks with the governors.

They want them back as part of the last minute strategy to swing the tide of public opinion in favour of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The initiators of the peace talks, according to sources familiar with the development, are trying to prevail on the affected governors not to make things difficult for the President such that he could win between 25 and 40 per cent votes in their states.

But the Presidency and the PDP are confused about what to do with ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo following recommendation   by some party bigwigs, including Ijaw leader Chief Edwin Clark that the ex-President should be expelled.

Some ex-PDP chiefs being wooed  are Governors Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano);  Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto); Abdulfatai Ahmed (Kwara); ex-Governors Segun Oni, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Danjuma Goje, Bayo Alao-Akala, Rasheed Ladoja, ex-PDP National chairmen like Audu Ogbeh, Barnabas Gemade, Kawu Baraje, ex-ministers Labaran Maku, Samuel Ortom and others.

It was gathered that though Governor Sule Lamido has not defected, the presidency and PDP are worried that he is yet to show enough commitment to Jonathan’s re-election bid.

Findings revealed that only Governor Rotimi Amaechi is being sidelined in the discreet lobbying because of what a source described as a “South-South” challenge.

It was learnt that the peace initiative followed moves to prevent any possible run-off poll with the presidential candidate of the APC, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.                                                                                               Some of these defectors are being begged to collapse their structures with PDP to ease victory for Jonathan on February 14.  A highly-placed PDP source said: “There is no point pretending, we are feeling the impact of those who have defected from our party to the APC.

“If they had remained in the party, it would have been a walk-over for Jonathan at the polls during the presidential race.

“We have discovered that our major obstacles are those who have left PDP because they are masters of the game in their own right.

“This is why some forces in the presidency and the PDP are making last minutes moves to engage them to have a rethink and work for Jonathan wherever they are.