• Says I didn't impose Amaechi

• You can leave forum, Mimiko tells aggrieved govs

Former Governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki, yesterday, faulted Governor Peter Obi's claim that he (Saraki) imposed Governor Rotimi Amaechi on the Nigeria Governors Forum ( NGF) as chairman in 2011.

He said that although he did not mind Obi succeeding him as NGF chairman, PDP governors rejected the Anambra State governor.

Saraki made the clarification in a statement in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Akintoba Fatigun, against the backdrop of Obi's statement at the weekend that the imposition of Amaechi on NGF started in 2011 when Amaechi was allegedly imposed on the governors by Saraki.

But Saraki in his rebuttal explained how Amaechi emerged in 2011 as the NGF chairman.

He said:  Governor Peter Obi was ex-Governor Bukola Saraki's Vice-Chairman in NGF, and Obi believed he should be the natural successor to the chairmanship position of the NGF after Saraki's tenure.

 Although the former governor of Kwara State had no objection to that, there's an unwritten law that the party in the majority (PDP) should continue to produce the chairman of the forum, because it has always been the tradition even before Saraki came on board.

 So, it was decided that the chairmanship should remain in the South- East to compensate for Obi's loss. Therefore, Governor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State, who is a PDP governor, was asked to step in as the next chairman, but he rejected the position on the excuse that he had too much to handle.

 At this point, Saraki, who wanted a South- East Governor to take over from him, did not have an option, since Governor Elechi rejected the offer, than to concede the slot to the South-South reluctantly. The South- South governor in attendance were Governors Liyel Imoke, Timpre Sylva and Rotimi Amaechi. The three governors then retired into a private room to discuss who among them should pick the lot. 

Saraki's media aide added that after the closed door meeting, Imoke announced that they had all agreed that Amaechi after consultation with other South South governors has been picked to succeed him. He explained further that Obi was rejected by PDP governors and not Saraki, adding that  it was because he (Obi) was not allowed to take over that it was agreed that he should continue as Vice-Chairman. 

However, Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State added a new dimension to the NGF leadership tussle yesterday when he said aggrieved governors could opt out.

Mimiko who is the deputy chairman of the Jang faction of the forum spoke during a meeting at the newly commissioned secretariat of the faction.

According to him,  The Forum is a voluntary association. We came together as a forum of equals to be able to leverage on issues. So anybody can pull out without consequences on his position as governor of his state. 

The governor said not one of the governors is proud of the current crisis in the NGF, stating however that  we believe that we must stand for what is right and just. 

Defending the installation of Jang as the NGF chair, Mimiko said the election that threw up Amaechi as chair of the forum did not meet acceptable standard of election,  not even a village council election. 

According to him, the result of the NGF poll did not reflect the true outcome of the election. Besides, Mimiko said the emergence of the NGF chair had always been by consensus and that Jang had already been picked as chairman through consensus.

The governor dismissed the video recording of the election, describing it as a product of manipulation, predetermined and disrespectful. He challenged anyone to show the world where he (Mimiko) was captured casting his vote in the video.

Jang, who chaired the meeting, said his faction was not aware of the video and described the recording as  morally wrong and corrupt . According to him, the video was not an official recording of the forum, and, as such, remained untameable.

 It is like the Abacha video. Who did the video? We are not aware of the video anyway. For Amaechi or any governor to hide a camera somewhere without the knowledge of the governors is morally wrong and corrupt.