Drama as Amaechi, Jang Sit Together at NEC Meeting

The leadership crisis in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF)  Thursday prompted an alteration in the sitting arrangement at the National Economic Council (NEC), thus making the two claimants to the NGF chair, Rivers State Governor, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi and his Plateau State counterpart, Chief Jonah Jang, to sit beside each other.

Membership of the council, presided over by the vice-president, comprises governors of the 36 states of the federation and the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Instead of the old sitting arrangement whereby the NGF chairman sits next to the NEC  Chairman, Vice-President Namadi Sambo, protocol did not recognise anyone as NGF chairman and there was no seat with that inscription as it is usually done. 

Rather, governors were made to sit in an alphabetical order based on the name of their states and with the new sitting arrangement, Jang and Amaechi found themselves beside each other, as there was no state whose name starts with letter Q that would have made that governor to sit between the two rivals.

Since the May NGF election in which Amaechi was re-elected by a vote of 19 to Jang’s 16, yesterday was the first time the duo would sit together on a round table.
Jang and his supporters had protested Amaechi’s victory and they broke a way to form a parallel organisation.

The sitting arrangement added a touch of drama to yesterday’s session of NEC, where one of the key decisions taken was the reduction of the cost of police reform, which was slashed from N2.8trillion to N1.5 trillion, as the sitting arrangement was not lost on the governors who seized the occasion to banter with one another over the leadership tussle.

A day before the council meeting, Jang had said on the sideline of dinner to mark the mid-term session of President Goodluck Jonathan that he had no quarrel with Amaechi because he was old enough to be his (Amaechi) father.

Like the NEC meeting, there was a mild drama at the dinner as presidential security details fenced off the Rivers governor from paying his respects to Jonathan,  prompting the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to urge the president to institute a probe into the incident.

When Amaechi came into the council chambers to take his usual seat, he discovered that he had been relocated and his new destination was near Jang.

Noticing the sitting arrangement, one of Amaechi’s supporters and Niger State Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu,  told him: "So you are going to sit with Jang. This is very nice oh. Somebody is trying to be diplomatic here."
Amaechi replied: "We are still together. So, I am going to sit with him. The real chairman and the... (laughter).

When Jang walked in,  he exchanged greetings with all his colleagues, including Amaechi.

He then sat near Amaechi who accepted his greetings, saying: "You are welcome, I am the authentic chairman."

Keeping a straight face, Jang did not utter a word, but Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, who is pro-Amaechi, continued the teasing, as he pointed to Amaechi, saying "that is my chairman". This drew laughter from his colleagues.

One of the key decisions taken at the council meeting was the slashing of the  cost of reforming the police from the N2.8trillion recommended by a presidential committee to N1.5 trillion.

The meeting also approved the establishment of a 10-man committee on oil theft to be chaired by Delta State Governor, Dr.  Emmanuel Uduaghan.

A day before the NEC meeting, Jang  had insisted that he remains the NGF chair.
He told journalists on Wednesday night on the sideline of the dinner organised by Jonathan to celebrate his mid-term in office that he had no quarrel with Amaechi because he was too old for such squabbles and he is old enough to be  Amaechi’s father.

“Amaechi is my younger brother; in fact, I can say son because if you look at Amaechi’s age, I’m old enough to be his father,”  a report by Channels Television quoted Jang as saying at the dinner.

Asked to respond to Amaechi’s statement that he polled 19 votes to defeat him at the NGF election, Jang said: “Well, that is his problem; but I know that I am the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.”

In a statement by the ACN  National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the president should ensure that whoever is behind such a condescending treatment of a governor is sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others.

''We are making this call because we do not believe that  in spite of the reported frosty relations between the two, President Jonathan  as the father of the nation  will lend the weight of his high office to such a demeaning action as exhibited by the presidential security personnel,'' it said.