Federal Gov. set to tackle rebel govs, Baraje

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The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party may take a turn for the worse while the Presidency and the Federal Capital Territory Administration intensify actions against “rebel” members of the party.

Our Source gathered on Monday that while the Presidency was set to remove such rebel members holding  board appointments, the FCTA  was determined to make sure that more  governors sympathetic to the Alhaji Abubakar Barage-led New PDP lose their landed properties in Abuja.

One of many seven governors in the New PDP, Rabiu Kwakwanso of Kano State, had a selection little bit of land allocated to him in Maitama District, Abuja, revoked by the FCTA on Saturday.

Our Source gathered that the FCTA was also set to remove what it termed “illegal structures on the land” measuring about 2,500 square metres.

Continue after the break.

The others referred to as rebel governors are: Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); Babangida Aliyu (Niger); Rotimi Ameachi (Rivers);   Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); and Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto).

The measures being targeted at the rebel governors by Presidency include the removal of their nominees from boards of federal parastatals and the withdrawal of any kind of government patronage.

Members of the New PDP, who currently enjoy government patronage in terms of contracts, are likely to end up being the worst hit.

A source in the Presidency stated that Baraje, who is the chairman of the board of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, would soon lose the job.

The source, who pleaded anonymity while he was not authorised to talk to the media on the issue, said, “This is just the beginning. We have pleaded to them and we have even made concessions but they are adamant. It will undoubtedly be their turn to beg.”

Even though Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Political Matter, Ahmed Gulak, and the Special Adviser to the FCT Minister, Mr. Nosike Ogbuenyi, who confirmed the revocation of Kwakwanso's land denied it had a political undertone, the New PDP disagreed.

Gulak,who  said the Presidency  was not active in the fate of the aggrieved governors, said  that  Kwakwanso's  land allocation was revoked while he built on Green Area and thereby bastardised the master plan of the FCT.

He denied knowledge of intend to sack members of the New PDP serving on the boards of federal   agencies, but said the honourable thing he expected famous brands Baraje to do was to resign their appointments before fighting the person that appointed them.

He said,  

“I am not conscious of any intend to sack those of them on boards of government agencies but when I were Baraje, I might have resigned my appointment before fighting the person that appointed me. That is the honourable thing to do.”

The National Publicity Secretary of the New PDP, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, said the “desperation” being shown by the Bamanga Tukur-led PDP was not distinctive from what  was obtained during the military era.

He said Nigeria was currently experiencing a military regime under the guise of democracy because party members were being hounded for daring to hold a different opinion.

Eze said ,“This is no more democracy; we're experiencing a military regime under the guise of democracy.

“It's very unfortunate that while we're crying about democracy to the surface world and the requirement to entrench democracy here, we're fighting our fellow democrats just for their political beliefs.”

In accordance with him, those currently at the helm of affairs must realise that no matter the ferocity of the attacks on members and sympathisers of the New PDP, the PDP must be   returned to its original owners.

He said, “If revoking the landed properties of our members in Abuja and elsewhere is all they can do, they need to look for better what to do.

“If this is the way they would like to rule Nigeria in 2015, we're going to do everything legally possible to make sure that no military exposed mentality may have its way.

“Let them proceed and use this opportunity to totally expose themselves to the Nigerian people, we should elect people who'll truly serve Nigerians and not those who will serve themselves.”

But Ogbuenyi claimed that Kwakwanso's allocation was revoked as the governor violated the Land Use Act by encroaching on a natural area.

Asked if the building on the land could be demolished, he replied, “Whenever we get to that particular river, we shall cross it.”