As part of efforts to keep his
second term bid on track, indications have emerged suggesting that President
Goodluck Jonathan has commenced moves to pacify one of his predecessors in
office, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
This is coming on the heels of reports yesterday in
which the President denied insinuations that the relationship between him and
ex-president Obasanjo was strained.
The relationship between the two seemed to be on
the slide in recent times owing to the verbal exchanges that have ensued
between them, prompting suggestions in some quarters that the Owu-born
soldier-turned-politician might dump his protégé for another candidate in 2015.
There were speculations that two serving governors
had been lined up to square up against President Jonathan in the event that he
decides to contest the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). One of the
two being propped up and others from the northern part of the country have been
making contact with the former president with a view to enlisting his support,
especially to lend them his platform in the south west.
Sources close to the former president in Lagos say
that President Jonathan penultimate Friday paid a secret visit to Obasanjo to
reconcile issues with him over some grievances that the former leader might
habour against him.
The source said one of the nation’s respected Christian
clergymen (names withheld) was part of the presidential delegation, during
which the two spoke for some hours before Jonathan proceeded to the retreat
camp of the Redeemed Christian Church of God for the monthly Holy Ghost
service.
"The president was in the Lagos-Abeokuta axis
two Fridays ago [December 14] to see Baba [Obasanjo] on the perceived gulf
between the two of them, which has become common knowledge. Owing to the
respect which the former leader has for the office of the president, he [Obasanjo]
had to wait for him as he was scheduled to travel on the said day," the
source said.
After Jonathan’s visit, the national chairman of
the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, was also reported to have visited Obasanjo in
Ota and the two met behind closed-doors, after which the host was reported as
saying that he would not stop speaking out when he sees anything going wrong in
the nation’s polity. The full details of the meeting between Obasanjo and Tukur
are still very sketchy at the time of filing this report, but sources said the
visit might not be unconnected to the fallout of the earlier visit by the
president.
According to the source, a former deputy-governor
of Lagos State, the president used the opportunity of the visit to really
ascertain the misgivings of his host, with a view to mending the cracks
cropping up in their relationship.
The former leader reportedly gave some conditions
that should be met for him to soft-pedal on his continued opposition to the
president’s second term bid, which he reportedly promised to look into.
"One of such conditions was that the president
must not in any way try to diminish his [Obasanjo’s] status as the leader of
the party in the south west, as he was the most senior former or current office
holder as recognised by the PDP constitution," the source stated. Details
of the other conditions are still being closely guarded for strategic reasons,
but the source stated that President Jonathan seems disposed to meeting with
them, "at least half way in the interest of peace and progress."
Obasanjo also called on the president to ensure
that a party member from the south west replace him as the chairman of the
board of trustees (BoT) of the party, contrary to the suggestion that he was
rooting for the candidacy of Senator Ahmadu Ali, a former national chairman of
the party.
On whether the former leader was scheming to stage
a return, the source said an emphatic no, but stated that the demand was due to
too much pressure on Obasanjo by party members in the zone who have continued to
lament their marginalisation from the power loop.
"Though it might be tough for the zone to
produce any candidate that can match the status of Senator Ali amongst members
of the board from the south west caucus, Baba’s demand is premised on the need
to look for something worthwhile for members of the party in the zone,"
said the source.
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