The G-7 Governors in the factionalized Peoples Democratic Party may be facing their political winter in an attempt to find an alternative platform in the face of the crisis rocking the ruling party. Although the APC has offered the olive branch to the ‘rebel' governors to join the opposition mega party, there are dissenting voices from top echelons of APC who are opposed to accomodating the G-7 Governors.

National Publicity Secretary of the opposition All Progressives Congress [APC] Alhaji Lai Muhammed is optimistic that the embattled Governors of the ruling PDP, otherwise called G-7 Governors would be admitted into their party.  Mohammed's optimism is predicated on fears being expressed that the ‘rebel' governors may be facing opposition within the hierarchy of the APC in their attempt to pitch their political tent there.
Allaying such fears Mohammed said: "It's all PDP propaganda. There is absolutely no truth in it. How would there be a thing like that? Have you seen a political party that would resist other people from joining it? Which political party would not be happy to get governors to come and join it? Which party would scare away governors from coming to its fold? 
According to Mohammed, the PDP knew that it has lost out and didn't want the governors to come to APC so they are the ones spreading this news.  "But I can tell you that this is very untrue.  If they reasoned that it would be difficult for Bafarawa to work with Governor Wamakko in Sokoto and as well difficult for Shekarau to work with Kwankwaso in Kano, the question is, why not? What they should know is that, what is important to these personalities at present is the bigger picture and that is to rescue Nigerians from the misrule of the PDP led government."
He observed that the APC and the governors were pursuing the same agenda to push PDP out of power. "We are all committed to driving away the PDP government from the centre and the states come 2015 elections because Nigerians have not benefited at all from the party's government of more than 14 years now.  It's not a personal issue between Kwankwaso and Shekarau or Bafarawa and Wamakko. They  are all seasoned politicians and they know that the bigger picture is to make sure that PDP is driven out of power in future elections. 
"For instance, why is it that General Buhari who jailed Chief Bisi Akande about 30 years ago is today in the same party with Akande? It's because we are not looking at the small issues, we are looking at the bigger picture. So, it's absolutely untrue that the governors would not be welcomed by some elements in APC.  It's not true; it's just PDP propaganda because they realized they have lost out. They are just not comfortable with the development. That I can tell you," he said.  
Chukwuemeka Eze, the spokesman of the new PDP shares the same optimism with Mohammed on the matter. Eze, who admitted that the fears being expressed within the hierarchy of the APC over the planned defection of the G-7 Governors were justified, however, said giving the calibre of APC chieftains that were wooing the G-7 Governors, he had no doubt over the possibility of their movement to the APC.
"Those who are wooing our Governors are the owners of the APC; people like General Muhammad Buhari, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande and the rest. These are the calibre of people who are visiting our governors and nobody would ordinarily doubt their contribution to making the APC and if such people are making moves then there is no question mark there", Eze said.
Commenting on fears being expressed by some APC chieftains, he said such fears were justified because "If you are in a house like the APC and there are bigger landlords coming like the G-7 Governors, you will definitely exercise fears."
Indeed, fears over the move by the G-7 Governors to pitch tent with the APC have been expressed in almost all the states affected. 
In most cases, the fears are predicated on the question of who calls the shots between the incoming landlords and the original ones. Our correspondents provide perspectives on the situation in the states controlled by the G-7 Governors.

Kano: Kwankwaso, Shekarau and 2015 machinations
The visit of the top echelon of the All Progressive Congress (APC) to Kano state has cleared the coast for Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to quit his party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for APC.
Before the visit last Thursday, report emanating from the political circle of Governor Kwankwaso had it that arrangements were almost completed for the governor to switch to APC.
It was gathered that during the closed door meeting of the governor with the APC team led by General Buhari, he was assured that his interests are going to be protected and respected if he joins the party. The APC team had an hour behind the scene meeting with the governor before the public gathering that was held at the Africa House, Kano government attended by hundreds of PDP stalwart.
This development has, however, sparked up high level politicking and rekindled the long rivalry between Kwankwaso and the immediate past Governor of the state, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau who is at the moment the leader of the APC in the state.
For years, Kwankwaso and Shekarau have been living like cat and mouse. The relationship between them soured in the first tenure of Kwankwaso when Shekarau was redeployed from a permanent secretary in charge of cabinet office in government house to the state's College of Arts where he returned to class room and lectured.
The redeployment propelled the popularity of Shekarau and in 2003, he defeated Kwankwaso at the polls. He governed the state for eight years but in 2011, Kwankwaso bounced back as he defeated the candidate of Shekarau, Mallam Sagir Takai at the poll.
If Kwankwaso joins the party, he will automatically take over the leadership of APC from Sheakarau. Already, the leadership of APC at a national level has assured him of this. Speaking during their visit on Thursday, Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha said if Kwankwaso joins, he will automatically take over the leadership of the party in the state.
"Lest you get worried because coming to a new party and leaving your old party, you may want to know what is in there for you. And it is proper we assure you as colleagues that governors have their due respect in APC. We are the chief security officers of our state, we are the leaders of the party in our states and we do accord leadership to the leaders of the leaders," Okorocha told Kwankwaso.
Aside from this, Kwankwaso and Shekarau will also clash again as  both are said to be vying for the Kano central senatorial district presently occupied by Senator Bashir Mohammed Lado of PDP.
Political analysts in Kano are of the view that the absence of Mallam Shekarau during the APC visit to Kwankwaso showed that he has reservations over the move of his political foe to join the mega party. Virtually all APC stalwarts in Kano State, including Tijjani Gwarzo, a one-time deputy governor to Shekarau attended the event.

Adamawa: Crisis over APC ‘deal' with Nyako 
Despite the ambitious drive by the national leadership of All the Progressive Congress (APC) to win the G7 governors in to their fold, reservations expressed by some members in Adamawa State suggest that the New PDP governors may witness yet another clash of ambitions if they were to join APC.
In an interview with Sunday Trust in Yola, the former chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Yola North Local Government Area, Eng. Adamu Salih alleged moves by the party leadership in North east to concede the party to Governor Murtala Nyako.  
While expressing the need to welcome new members, Salih called for respect for the members of APC who struggled to form the party, saying pioneer members should not be sidelined as that may boomerang on the party.
He questioned Nyako's involvement with APC while he still claims membership of the PDP, saying part of the process of joining APC is to surrender the PDP membership card.
Recently, local government party chairmen of ACN and CPC addressed a press conference where they raised an allegation that the APC structures were being conceded to Murtala Nyako even before he decamped to the party at the expense of pioneer members.
Their spokesperson, Mukhtar Aliyu Yusuf accused the Interim National Vice Chairman of APC in the North East, Alhaji Umar Duhu of sealing a deal with Governor Nyako to give him control of party structures in Adamawa. 
However, Duhu dismissed the allegation as non-issue and mere fabrication, saying Nyako is yet to join the party and could, therefore, not be given any structure to control. Duhu said the party had no intention whatsoever to sideline any member or group, nor prevent anybody from joining it. 
"We should tell ourselves the truth, the spokesperson who addressed the press conference is just a ward chairman. Why should the media give him the chance to make baseless accusations against the North East Zonal chairman. He should sort it out with his local government party chairman", he stated. 
The National Vice Chairman noted that the presence of Marwa, Gundiri and Alhaji Abdurrahman Adamu during the visit of the APC national leadership showed that there was no cleavage in the party and its members were working for a common goal of wresting power from the PDP.
The National leadership of APC was in Yola on Friday to persuade Governor Murtala Nyako to dump his party and join the APC. The delegation, comprising of the National Chairman, Bisi Akande, General Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Ahmad Tinubu was unequivocal in its message to the governor. 
Chief Akande said their mission to Yola was to persuade Nyako to join their party which was poised towards entrenching true democracy, rule of law and good governance, expressing optimism that Nyako would make valuable addition to the party.
"Nigerians are now tired of the PDP's injustice and impunity, hence the resolve to bring change.  I can assure you that in APC, internal democracy is guaranteed. Please let's not make mistake, the time is ripe for change. Our discussions with other governors are very fruitful ahead of the proposed merger,'' said Akande.
In his response, Nyako maintained that he was still a member of the PDP but may leave the party at any given time. "The PDP is very, very sick.  If APC means making Nigeria a key player in Africa, or saving Nigeria or securing Nigeria, I don't mind being in any political party".
He added "the PDP is on the verge of death because the leaders in Abuja have given the party a terrifying upper-cut. If the party is dead nobody should expect me to follow a dead party into the grave", Nyako said.

In Rivers, Amaechi makes discreet moves to dissolve PDP into APC
Rivers State Chapter of Peoples Democratic Party last week raised alarm, alleging that Governor Chibuike Amaechi had directed all his commissioners and close associates to start a gradual process of registering with All Progressive Congress Party (APC) in the state. 
The party, in a statement signed by its publicity secretary, Jerry Nadeem, said it was not surprised by the governor's directive, given his secret alignment with APC. 
"The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers has been informed about the recent directives given by Governor Amaechi to all his commissioners and close associates to register with the APC. We are aware of that and wish to inform the governor that his defection to APC will prepare ground to prove who controls the soul of Rivers State politics. We wish you good luck in your future endeavour with your new party," the statement said.
But the G. U. Ake faction of the party dismissed the claims arguing that governor Amaechi is not contemplating leaving the ruling PDP. The faction, in a press statement signed by its publicity secretary, George Okwuoma Nwaogba said Amaechi had never informed anybody that he intends to leave PDP. He also dismissed the claims that the governor directed his commissioners and associates to register with APC, stressing that the governor remains a bona fide member of PDP and will not leave the party.
Curiously, Amaechi was among the breakaway PDP governors that attended the APC meeting in Sokoto. It was gathered that Amaechi had a secret meeting with Tom Ikimi, a former External Affairs Minister and chieftain of APC in Port Harcourt where the governor gave conditions to defect to APC. 
Sources close to the governor informed our correspondent that one of the conditions given by the Ikimi delegation was to allow the G.U. Ake faction of PDP in the state collapse into APC and take full charge of the party in the State. The source pointed out that the leaders of the party in the state were uncomfortable with the proposal and the meeting ended in a deadlock.

Dicey options for New PDP in Kwara 
One novel feature of Kwara politics since the time of Saraki was that a political party barely determined the late icon's victory in any election but his personality and immense clout which he had deployed over time to win elections. 
It would be recalled that the late Saraki singlehandedly installed the first civilian Governor of the state in person of Adamu Attah under the platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). Attah fell out with him in the subsequent election and (Saraki) joined forces with the then opposition Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) and installed Chief Cornelius Adebayo as governor.
The August 31 walk-out at the national convention of the PDP and the formation of new PDP by seven governors (including Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed) and some big-wigs of the PDP lent credence to the purported factionalisation of the party. Few days after the August 31st event, Ahmed returned to Ilorin to a rousing welcome confirming the existence of some dissidents planning to hijack the party's structure.
Sunday Trust recalled that on Saturday October 12 when the PDP flagged off its campaign for the October 26 local government poll, Ahmed, in his address at the rally restated the oneness of PDP in Kwara state and reaffirmed the leadership of Saraki. Making reference to the political empire of late Saraki, the governor noted that hijacking the PDP structure from Saraki was impossible given the historical antecedent of Kwara politics.  
Senator Saraki on his part corroborated the governor, stressing the legacy of his father still subsists.  "In Kwara state as the Governor said, we only move in one direction, we are one family and that is why Kwara is the only state where you can have the former governors (referring to himself and Senator Shaaba Lafiaji) and the present governor still working together. I challenge any state in the 36 states of Nigeria to produce that. 
It is not by chance, it is by the special grace of God. I've told people that Kwara is different. This is the time we are going to let Nigeria know that the direction of Kwara state politics is here. And In Sha Allah it will continue to be with us." 
 
In Sokoto, Bafarawa, Wamakko rivalry rekindled
The coming of  APC bigwigs to Sokoto to attend a function organized by  the PDP-led government in the state last Tuesday has remained at the centre of discussion  in Sokoto state, with many believing it was a spirited  move towards the G7 – Governors moving to the APC.
Even though speculations had been rife that the affected governors planned to defect to the opposition political party, it took many by surprise to have seen the APC stalwarts at the ceremony.
It was curious that the commissioning of the state university would attract such unprecedented gathering of opposition in a state known to be a stronghold of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
But speaking in an exclusive interview with Sunday Trust Wamakko dismissed the notion that the visit was political.
"What we are doing is try to tell people how we should play politics, being in different parties doesn't mean you are enemies, inviting someone from a different party to come and see you does not mean you are going to his party or he is going to your party. These are the kind of things we call peer review mechanism; you learn from me, I learn from you. 
Many in the state think Governor Wamakko may be hesitant to join his perceived political foe, former Governor Attahiru Bafarawa who is the APC chieftain in the Sokoto.
In 1999, Bafarawa and Wamakko were  elected governor  and deputy  governor  of Sokoto state respectively  on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and were re-elected for second term  in April 2003.
Wamakko, however, resigned as Deputy Governor of Sokoto State in March, 2006 following irreconcilable differences between the two.  Wamakko subsequently ran for Governor of Sokoto State in April 2007 under the People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform and emerged victorious.

Will Jigawa APC welcome Lamido?
Who in his wildest imagination some few weeks ago will think that Governor Sule Lamido can contemplate leaving the PDP albeit for the newly form APC. This question underscores the fact that at the state level, there had been no love lost between Lamido and the APC in Jigawa.
The recent by -election that took place two months ago tested the patience of both the PDP and the APC in the state. There is still a substantive court case instituted by the APC against the PDP over the violence in Sankara village during the by- election.  But fillers emanating from the leaders of the APC in Jigawa after the visit to Jigawa state by APC national leaders to woo Lamido shows that the feud between the two parties is now history as they  are all ready to accept him in the party should he decide to join.
Spokesman of the APC in Jigawa and a former House of Rep member Babura and Garki Federal Constituency under the ANPP, Nasiru Garba Dantiye, told Sunday Trust that Lamido is welcome so long as he agrees to play by the rules in APC.
"A political party is not a limited liability company where membership is restricted. He is welcome to the party so long as he will abide by the rules of the party. We believe in internal democracy, rule of law and transparent process. We don't want imposition of candidates and dictatorship. Politics is a game of number and APC is making wide consultation and recruitment drive for the party".
But analysts say looking at the history of Lamido's politics and his past commitment to the PDP, only time shall tell if he will abandon the troubled party for the APC which is ready to welcome him with pomp and pageantry.