APC governors meeting.
By Abdul Hassan
“The governors, at an extraordinary meeting held on Thursday night in Abuja, actually resolved to replace Gov. Uzodimma with Enugu Gov Mbah”.
20 governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday night actually met and passed a vote of no confidence in Hope Uzodimma, the Imo State governor and chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF).
Despite the denial by the Director General of the PGF this morning, it has been confirmed that the meeting actually took place and Uzodimma was removed after they accused him of financial impropriety and expressed their loss of confidence in his leadership.
Credible sources within the PGF had confirmed the development at the governors’ meeting and its outcome on Thursday night, and was reported by the media, including Periscope International, but the PGF swiftly issued a statement on Friday morning denying that such a meeting had taken place.
The governors, at the extraordinary meeting held Thursday night in Abuja, had also resolved to replace Uzodimma with Enugu State Gov Peter Mbah as the new chairman of the forum.
This was further confirmed by two APC governors, who separately confirmed the coup against Uzodimma.
Both governors insisted that, as far as they were concerned, Uzodimma had been removed and Mbah is the new chairman of the forum.
It was gathered that the meeting took place shortly after Vice President Kashim Shettima submitted President Bola Tinubu’s presidential nomination forms.
“If you are accused of impropriety, you should step down or render account,” one of the governors said.
A second governor who confirmed the development said the forum, being a voluntary association, operates differently from legislative bodies such as the National Assembly.
“They can decide to remove the chairman for the reasons stated,” he said.
It was further learnt that the governors raised concerns about Uzodimma’s leadership style, alleged financial impropriety, and his failure to provide satisfactory explanations for the accusations levelled against him.
The APC governors are said to have subsequently informed President Tinubu of their decision.
It was unclear whether Tinubu had intervened in the crisis, which had already been brewing for several weeks.
Besides the 20 governors who attended the meeting, some participated virtually.
The governors who voted against Uzodimma are Adamawa, Zamfara, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers, Bayelsa, Benue, Niger, Kwara, Nasarawa, Plateau, Enugu, Ebonyi, Ogun, Borno, Taraba, Katsina, Kebbi, and Kano states.
Those backing Mr Uzodimma are the governors of Yobe, Lagos, Gombe, Kogi, Edo, Ekiti, Ondo, Sokoto, Jigawa, and Kaduna states.
It would be recalled that following the media reports, the PGF’s Director General, Folorunso Aluko, in a statement denied that no such meeting or resolution took place, describing the reports as entirely false.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Progressive Governors Forum states categorically that the report is entirely false, baseless, and without an iota of truth,” the statement read.
The forum further said its secretariat had no record of any resolution removing Uzodimma from office.
“The PGF secretariat has no record of, and is not aware of, any resolution removing the Chairman.
“His Excellency, Sen. Hope Uzodimma, CON, remains the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum,” the statement added.
