24th May, 2013
Governor Rotimi Amaechi of oil rich Rivers State, has been re-elected by his colleagues to chair the Nigerian Governors Forum, despite speculations that Aso Rock planned to block him.
In the election today in Abuja, he got 19 votes, while his opponent, Jonah Jang of Plateau State got 16 votes.
Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State and Ibrahim Shema of Katsina state were earlier rumoured to be in the race to topple the Rivers governor, who has been having a bumpy relationship with President Goodluck Jonathan. But in a run-up to the election, the Northern Governors Forum endorsed Jang as consensus candidate, after Shema and Yuguda refused to step down for each other.
Yobe State governor, Ibrahim Geidam was absent at the election.
Yobe State Governor, Ibrahim Geidam stayed away from the poll, there were indications that a governor might have stayed neutral.
According to an insider, Amaechi won the poll at the first ballot.
The insider said: “At the count of the ballot, Amaechi secured 19 votes against Jang’s 16.
“The verdict has been greeted with protest by pro-presidency governors. That is what we are now contending with. They want to stage a walk out.” But anti-Amaechi governors were alleged to have threatened a protest march out of the poll venue, reported TheNation online.