Ogun crisis: Daniel set to meet Jonathan

Posted by admin Ogun, State News Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

The Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, will on Wednesday (today) meet with President Goodluck Jonathan over the state governorship election.

Investigations on Tuesday by our correspondents revealed that the meeting was a last minute effort by the President to resolve the crisis in the state Peoples Democratic Party before the April 26 polls.

It was gathered that PDP members and Daniel’s supporters in the Peoples Party of Nigeria were worried that the governorship seat of the state might elude both parties, if the crisis was not resolved.

The crisis in the state PDP worsened in December last year when two factions of the party led by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Daniel held parallel primaries.

At the primaries conducted by the Obasanjo faction, a former military governor of Oyo State, Maj.-Gen. Tunji Olurin (retd.) was picked as the governorship candidate.

A former Managing Director of Gateway Holdings, Mr. Gboyega Isiaka, emerged the winner of the Daniel faction’s governorship primaries.

Following the recognition of Olurin’s candidacy by the Independent National Electoral Commission, Isiaka defected to the PPN, where he was named the governorship candidate.

Although Daniel remains in the PDP, he has been supporting Isiaka’s candidacy in the PPN.

The PDP and the PPN lost three senatorial seats in the state to the Action Congress of Nigeria during the April 9 National Assembly polls.

But Jonathan defeated the ACN candidate, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, during the April 16 presidential election in the state.

Our correspondents gathered that PDP and the PPN leaders were concerned that both Olurin and Isiaka could lose the governorship election to the ACN candidate, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, if the crisis was not resolved.

When one of our correspondents wanted to know Daniel’s stand on the meeting, he said the correspondent should meet him at the Presidential Villa.

-Punchwp_posts