President Goodluck Jonathan last night met with members of House of Representatives and governors on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, ostensibly to commence the outreach programme to critical members of the party on his re-election bid.
However, members of the Senate who were conveyed in a coaster bus to the meeting left the venue immediately.
A source who confided in THISDAY said the invitation for the meeting was not extended to the PDP senators.
There seemed to be confusion over those invited to the meeting as a senator complained, saying "I have never seen this kind of thing before."
THISDAY however gathered that a later date would be fixed for Jonathan's meeting with Senate members.
By 9.20p.m., the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, drove to the venue in company of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio.
State House correspondents were however prevented from moving close to the venue of the meeting by security agents who said the meeting was private.
The governors, who were present at the time of filing this report were Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Theodore Orji (Abia), Godwill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Martins Elechi (Ebonyi), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Idris Wada (Kogi), Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Seidu Dakingari (Kebbi), Ibrahim Dakwambo (Gombe), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina) and the Deputy Governor of Sokoto State, Mukhtar Shagari.
Jonathan met the House members and governors present.
THISDAY had exclusively reported yesterday that in his bid to pave the way for his declaration to contest the 2015 presidential election billed for February, Jonathan would meet the governors elected on the platform of the PDP as well as the national chairman of the party, Mu’azu.
According to findings, the governors had met at the Asokoro, Abuja residence of the national chairman with other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party before meeting Jonathan at the Presidential Villa last night.
On the import of the meeting a source had told THISDAY that, “the decision to officially inform the party and the governors stems from his recognition of the governors as the field commanders in their states and it would not be fair for them and the party to get the information of his decision to seek re-election secondhand."
As at the time of filing this report, the meeting was still in progress..