Three sources within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today
confirmed to SaharaReporters that Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers
State and his Delta State counterpart, Emmanuel Uduaghan, actually
walked out on the PDP’s national chairman, Bamanga Tukur, and Governor
Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum
(PGF). Our sources said Mr. Amaechi and Mr. Uduaghan staged the walk-out
during a meeting of the South-South special zonal executive committee
on Sunday, March 17, 2013 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.One of the sources accused the two Niger Delta governors of teaming up to walk out in order to embarrass Mr. Tukur and their Akwa Ibom State counterpart. Governor Akpabio, who was recently chosen as the inaugural chairman of the PDP’s governors’ forum, is known to be extremely servile towards President Goodluck Jonathan. Mr. Jonathan and Governor Amaechi have been carrying on a quiet feud for some months now.
In a move to cover up shunning of Mr. Tukur, the Delta State Commissioner of Information, Chike Ogeah, had issued a statement claiming that Governor Uduaghan’s exit from the Port Harcourt meeting did not translate to disrespect for the PDP chairman. Mr. Ogeah’s statement asserted that, on arrival in Port Harcourt, Mr. Uduaghan had informed Mr. Tukur of his intention to return to Asaba, the Delta State capital, the same day.
