Nine govs shun Jonathan campaign launch

Nine governors of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday shunned the inauguration of the Presidential Campaign Organisation of the party in Abuja.

The organisation, headed by a former National Chairman of the party, Senator Amadu Ali, is saddled with the responsibility of selling the candidature of President Goodluck Jonathan and his deputy, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, to Nigerians for the February 14 presidential election.

But only a handful of the governors were in attendance.

Among the governors at the event were Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), James Ngilari (Adamawa), Babangida Aliyu (Niger) and Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe State).

However, governors Theodore Orji (Abia), Dr. Olusegun Mimiko(Ondo), Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Martin Elechi (Enugu) were absent from the inauguration.

Also absent at the inauguration were governors Idris Wada (Kogi), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Jonah Jang (Plateau).

Some of the absentee governors were put in charge of the campaign in their zones. ...Punch

Lamido is saddled with the responsibility of coordinating the presidential campaign in the North-West, Mimiko is in charge of the South-West while Orji is to head the South-East zone.

No reason was given for the absence of the governors.

However, the President later met behind closed doors with the PDP governors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.