Although the parting of ways over Jonathan is still a carefully guarded secret at the top, The Nation learnt that some of the governors are so crossed with the president that they have entered into political alliances with other possible contenders, a move that is certain to rattle Jonathan’s return ambition in 2015.
Unlike what obtained in the 2011 general elections when all the South-South governors threw their weight behind Jonathan’s election as President, the 2015 election is poised to be dicey. This time around, except Jonathan acts fast to save the situation, it seems two, out of the five South-South governors, are no longer queuing behind him.
The South-South governors that may have withdrawn their support for Mr. President, according to impeccable sources, are Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Cross River State Governor, Liyel Imoke.
According to sources close to Amaechi, he is of the view that the next presidential race should not be based on ethnic considerations, but that the best candidate from any of the regions in the country should emerge as the next president.
But beyond his opposition to ethnic affinity in deciding the 2015 race, sources close to him revealed that Amaechi’s cold war with the president is a fall-out of the alleged plan by federal authorities to cede about 45 oil wells in the Kalabari area of Rivers State to Bayelsa, the president’s home state.
Despite the president’s assurances that he was not using his executive powers to favour Bayelsa State in the oil well controversy, Amaechi, according to sources, feels otherwise.
At a town hall meeting held in Port Harcourt recently, Amaechi, according to a source, told the audience that the reason some powers-that-be have decided to deny Rivers State of the oil wells boils down to the politics playing out ahead of the 2015 elections. He allegedly accused the president of attempting to clip his wings so as to stop him from supporting an opponent in the 2015 presidential election.
Imoke’s grouse is also connected to oil wells. We gathered that Imoke’s anger is traceable to Mr. President’s alleged indifference to the plight of Cross River State after it lost substantial oil wells to the neighbouring Akwa Ibom State in a case that dragged on to the Supreme Court. The decision of the highest court of the land deprived Cross River State of huge revenue.
A source told The Nation that “The unanimous opinion of many Cross River State indigenes, including the governor, is that the president, after assuming office in 2010, should have used his exalted office to broker a political solution to the oil well issue, rather than allow the state to lose out completely.”
TheNation
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