As the date for the PDP governorship primaries in Bayelsa State draws nearer, governors of the six South-South states yesterday held a closed-door meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan during whihc they mounted pressure on him with a view to clearing the state governor, Timipre Sylva, for the contest.
Sylva, who is said to be at odds with Jonathan, is among the aspirants who are yet to be cleared for the primaries slated for later this month, although he has consistently denied that he has been denied the ticket by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.
The governors are said to have pressed for yesterday’s meeting following the failure of an earlier one to change the tide in Sylvia’s favour.
LEADERSHIP WEEKEND gathered that the meeting was specially arranged by the governors to pacify the president who reportedly got infuriated by a shouting match the embattled governor of his home state had engaged him in, at an earlier meeting convened for the same purpose.
Acting national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Abubakar Baraje had, on Wednesday, told newsmen at the party’s headquarters that the reason why Sylva had, not been cleared was as a result of the series of petitions filed against him from his state.
According to him, the allegations against Sylva were very weighty as they bordered on national security.
But on Thursday, the governor was given provisional clearance after he was screened alongside former managing director of NDDC Timi Alaibe; chairman of Silver Bird, Ben Bruce, and former permanent secretary of water resources ministry, Godknows? Ighali, by the Brigadier General Idi Adamu-led committee.
All the South-South governors, except Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State were at the presidential villa with Sylva yesterday to ask President Jonathan to temper justice with mercy.
They waited for about two hours before the president attended to them.
The governors who refused to speak to journalists when they came out of the meeting walked quietly to their waiting vehicles. Sylva himself, who wore an almost sad look, did not appear as if anything good came out of the meeting.