Spokesperson of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, confirmed the move to the Nigerian Tribune.
The committee, according to him, was headed by the former governor of Edo State, John Oyegun and was to work out modalities for the sharing of party offices and elective positions between supporters of the governors and chieftains of the party.
There have been reports of some members of APC kicking against the imminent entry of the PDP governors, on the fear that the party structures in the seven states would be handed over to the newcomers.
The states to be considered in the new arrangement included Kwara, Sokoto, Niger, Kano, Jigawa, Rivers and Adamawa.
Alhaji Mohammed disclosed that the committee was expected to come up with a proposal that would make new members coming with the governors not to feel like strangers in APC, while current members would not feel they had been dumped.
Since signals of the governors’ possible entry into the opposition party became clearer, members of the party in states like Kano, Sokoto, Kwara and Adamawa had been agitating over what they termed plot to hand the party over to the governors.
It was also learnt that instead of going for congress to elect substantive party executive members, the party may opt for unity lists in the seven states, in order not to allow a group to run over the other.
The move, according to a source, was to protect the interest of members in the states, since the governors were considered to be better-placed financially and structure-wise.
Speaking on the imminent entry of the governors and plans for seamless integration, Mohammed said “my party has set up a committee to look specifically into these issues and make recommendations on seamless integration of old and new members, where neither the new would feel like strangers nor the old feel used and discarded.
“But we are talking about human beings, egos, prejudices. We don’t expect it to be a tea-party, but would that be enough reason for us not to attempt what we are doing?
“They are challenges that could be overcome. In the process, instead of getting 100, we might get 70, but if you had 30 before and you get 70, it is better than remaining at 30.
“Definitely personal ambitions and calculations would be altered. Adjustment would happen not only in Kwara, but in Sokoto, Kano, among other states.”
G7 govs meet in Abuja, to meet Jonathan today
The stalled reconciliation talks over the crisis rocking PDP appears set to resume, as the G7 governors are set to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, today.
Sources confirmed that the resumption of talk had received the authorisation of the president, who also consented to the extension of invitation to the G7 governors for the dinner organised in favour of the victorious Golden Eaglets at the State House.
However, ahead the planned meeting with the president, the G7 governors held a private meeting at the Kano Governor’s Lodge, on Sunday night, with all the seven governors in attendance.
The meeting, which was devoid of open show of presence that previously attracted policemen to the venue, was still on at the time of filing this report.
A source hinted that the meeting was reviewing the outcome of consultations they had with former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and General Theophilus Danjuma.
Other issues said to be at the front burner at the meeting included the court ruling on the position of the national secretary of the PDP and proposals from those pushing for reconciliation in the mainstream PDP.
The New PDP spokesman, Chukwuemeka Eze, confirmed that the meeting was held, but said it was a private meeting not open to the public.
The delay in the reconciliation talk had led to open romance of the aggrieved governors with APC, while the president’s men were already applying the stick to deal with the rebel governors.
Nigerian Tribune learnt that the sudden change by the presidency to engage the governors in talks was influenced by some insiders, who urged President Jonathan to allow a last minute intervention, the outcome of which was considered critical.
The National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, was reported to have waded into the matter by contacting the G7 governors, while the reconciliation committee, headed by Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, was also reportedly contacted by some G7 governors said to be uncomfortable with the push to defect to APC.
The calculation on both sides also changed, following unconfirmed reports Chief Obasanjo and former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, had reconciled with President Jonathan.
It was learnt that the two former presidents received the news of planned defection into APC by the seven governors with pessimism, a development said to have pushed the rebel governors back to the negotiating table.
Reports had it that a line of reconciliation was opened among the trio of the president, Chief Obasanjo and Babangida in the last one week, with the court ruling on the party national secretary tussle said to have increased the prospect.
Obasanjo was reported to have warned the G7 governors against romance with APC, advising that reconciliation with Jonathan was the best option.
A party source confessed that the thinking within the top caucus was that the ruling had provided a window of reconciliation for the two factions, though the South West caucus of the party had strognly come out against using the position as a bargaining platform.
Eze confirmed that invitation was extended to the G7 governors to attend the dinner the president was hosting in honour of the Golden Eaglets but was, however, silent on the reports of renewed peace talks.
Party chiefs contacted on the new peace moves also accepted that the contact among the trio of President Jonathan, Chief Obasanjo and Babangida may have changed the permutations.
It was also not clear, however, whether or not members of the New PDP would stick to all their demands, which included the removal of the party chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur; reinstatement of Oyinlola as national secretary; return of party structures to Governors Rotimi Amaechi and Murtala Nyako and a call on the president not to seek re-election in 2015.
New PDP sets up committee to receive 5 new govs•Appoints national organising sec to replace Oyinlola
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) has set up a six-man organising committee to set in motion, the reception in honour of the five new governors of PDP, who had decided to join the faction of the party.
The splinter party, in a release signed by Chief Eze, said the party took this decison at its monthly meeting held in Abuja, at the weekend and chaired by its national chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje.
The committee, according to him, was headed by the national vice chairman of nPDP, Dr Sam Jaja, with the national organising secretary, Nasir Isa Abubakar, as secretary.
Other members included the national treasurer, Abubakar G. Umar; women leader, Binta Masi Garba; youth leader, Mr Timi Frank and Chief Eze.
The committee was directed to submit for immediate consideration, the venue, logistics and modalities for receiving the five new governors, ex-governors, nationalists and key members of the National Assembly, who had indicated interest to join the group.
Meanwhile, Abubakar has been appointed to replace Prince Oyinlola in acting capacity, pending further directives from the G7 governors and the nPDP caucus.
2015: Tinubu rejects Atiku’s peace moves •No visit to Tinubu —Atiku’s aide
Hopes of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar benefitting from the ongoing crisis in PDP appears to have hit the rocks, following a disagreement between him and the leader of APC, Senator Bola Tinubu.
Atiku was said to have visited the former Lagos State governor when he was rec
uperating abroad recently to renew the alliance they had in 2007, which saw the then vice president contest the presidential election on the ticket of the Action Congress (AC).
Sources in the political circles confirmed to the Nigerian Tribune that Atiku visited
Tinubu and pleaded with him to support his 2015 presidential ambition on the platform of APC.
It was gathered that Atiku was hopeful he would be able to convince the aggrieved governors of PDP under the aegis of G7 to defect en masse to the APC.
When contacted, the head of Atiku media office, Garba Shehu, said “to the best of my knowledge, there has not been any such visit.
“If this speculation is linked to his impending meeting with APC train, I would like to say that the outcome of a meeting can only be known after the interaction has occurred.
“Let them wait for the meeting to take place before they can discuss its outcome.”
According to the sources, “Atiku recently visited Tinubu when the latter was abroad recuperating from his surgery. It was a no holds barred meeting between the duo.
“Atiku asked to be supported to emerge as presidential candidate on the platform of APC and that he was sure that with the coming of the G7 governors into the opposition party, they could all spring a surprise against PDP in 2015.
“But Tinubu told him that it would be difficult to support him in 2015 since he was given the chance in 2007 as candidate of AC but he later abandoned the party. You left us to re-join PDP and I don’t think we can give you this new platform.”
It was also learnt at the weekend that with the confusion that had hit the G7 governors over their planned defection to APC, Atiku’s hope of emerging the candidate of a major political party in the 2015 race appeared to be hanging in the balance.
Sources said though Atiku had hoped to tag along with the aggrieved PDP governors to join either APC or the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), the state of confusion now reigning over the defection plans was placing the Atiku camp in a round of confusion.
“Atiku’s main planks of contesting the 2015 election are based on PDM and APC. His loyalists in the PDM will gladly join APC if he is assured of emerging as its candidate.
“But the fact that some of the G7 governors are not ready to defect to APC, based on the advice of former President Obasanjo is creating problems,” the sources said.
Security presence at Wadata Plaza
There was heavy security presence at the Wadata Plaza, national headquarters of the PDP in Abuja, on Sunday.
The security beef-up may not be unconnected with the speculated resumption of the court-reinstated national secretary of the party, Prince Oyinlola.
The reinstated national secretary of the party, it was gathered, would go to his office today.
Oyinlola, it will be recalled, was declared the authentic national secretary of the party, in a ruling delivered by the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, last week.
What was, however, not clear as of press time was whether or not the security presence was to forestall the breakdown of order, ahead the planned resumption of Oyinlola in office today.
It was also rife that Oyinlola may eventually resume without any crisis today, going by the ongoing rapprochement between the president on one hand and former presidents Obasanjo and Babangida on the other, in the spirit of reconciliation process ongoing in the party.
