Ill health: President Defers Meeting With Rebel Governors

Another opportunity for the resolution of the festering crisis in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appears to have been lost again: President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday postponed his meeting with the G7 governors, citing health challenges.


The meeting, earlier billed for last night at the presidential villa, will now hold on an unscheduled day within the week, according to the president.

The president said the deferment of the parley became necessary considering “an almost six-hour flight”. He spoke to reporters on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, after a five-day visit to London.

The president, whose plane arrived at the Abuja airport from London about 7:08pm, said he would continue to dialogue with the governors in line with the tenet of politics which is all about discussions.

But as President Jonathan spoke, the G-7 governors with whom he was to hold the peace meeting were also in a closed-door session at the Sokoto Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja.

Jonathan had fallen sick in London where he had been since Wednesday for the meeting of the Honorary International Investors’ Conference (HIIC). He could not attend the opening ceremony on Thursday last week following abdominal pains which doctors described as acute. The doctors had reportedly advised him to take some time off to rest.

On arrival at the presidential wing of the Abuja airport, Jonathan, who rarely addressed the press on his return from foreign trips, told State House correspondents that he was very grateful to Nigeria for the birthday wishes he received in torrents on the pages of newspapers.

On the seriousness of his illness, he said: “The most important thing is that I’m back. Of course you should expect that when you are holding a political office as the president of the country or governor of a state, anything that affects you can create a lot of apprehension. So, even if it is that the president is sick alone, even if you don’t know the ailment, definitely it will cause apprehension.”

On whether he was meeting with the G7 governors last night, he said: “Tonight? No, I don’t think I will be able to hold any meeting tonight. You know six hours’ flight is quite a distance. Also following from my health challenges, I think the meeting will be rescheduled. But we will meet within the week.”

Asked to specifically announce the actual date he was going to meet with the governors this week, he said, “I don’t know; I’m just coming in, but I believe within the week we would be able to meet.”

President Jonathan disagreed with those who claimed that his meeting with the G7 governors was not yielding any fruitful result since some of them were already deeply rooted in the camp of the opposition against him, just as he noted that he and the governors belong to the same party.

“You see, politics is all about discussions. This is all about politics. We belong to the same political party; even people from different political parties engage in discussions. Political discussions are continuous processes. Even during elections people discuss. So, we will continue to discuss.”

Thanking Nigerians for their goodwill towards him on his birthday, he said, “First, let me thank and appreciate Nigerians for the show of love and concern since Wednesday, that even though I was in London I read from the papers how people congratulated me, remembering my birthday that I don’t normally celebrate. But people know and so they normally congratulate me. I read in the papers and I have to thank Nigerians.

“And especially, the issue of my health because I really had health challenges. I have to thank God again for the concern shown by Nigerians and the love. We thank God that I’m very okay to resume work, I believe, from this night.”

Asked about his position on the ongoing investigation into the N255 million bullet-proof cars bought for the aviation minister, Princess Stella Oduah, Jonathan admitted that the three-member panel he set up about a month ago to probe into the matter has submitted its report to him. He however refused to comment further on the matter.

The car scandal had generated a serious controversy with some Nigerians from the opposition camp alleging that the decision by the president to set up the panel of inquiry which has former head of service Isa Saleh as chairman and the national security adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki, as member was diversionary.

On whether he was satisfied the performance of his ministers at the HIIC meeting, while he was indisposed in the UK, he said: “Yes, all of them performed. I think there is some kind of misconception. The Honorary International Investors’ Forum meets two times a year, one time in Nigeria and one time outside Nigeria, in most cases London -- and the last time, I think it was France and so on. Ministers are not meant to sit throughout the period.

“Ministers are meant to go and make presentation, even in Nigeria. The only minister that normally sits throughout is the minister of industry, trade and investment that we are having in the HIIC. Some ministers don’t normally sit for two days. In one day, you may not normally see a minister if the minister is meant to make presentation on the second day.

“So, it is not that from the beginning to the end for the two days, you will expect all the ministers. I read the stories that the minister of communications technology and the minister of petroleum were not there on Thursday. They were not meant to make presentation on Thursday; they appeared on Friday and they made their presentations. Even in Nigeria, I even stayed more because it is a group that advises the president; if I am not there, the vice president takes over.

“Myself and the vice president exchanging our positions and the minister of trade and investment are those who really stay throughout. The ministers, CBN governors, chief economic adviser, the finance minister, minister of planning and everybody come and make presentation and sometimes they sit during the plenary session. So, there is no issue about ministers. People make a lot of insinuations out of nothing”