A fresh leadership dispute has erupted within the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), further exposing divisions among governors elected under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has maintained that he remains the substantive chairman of the forum, with Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani continuing in his role as deputy chairman. However, a separate faction within the forum is reportedly rallying behind Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, signalling a widening split among APC governors.
The camp aligned with Abiodun is said to include governors from Adamawa, Zamfara, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers, Bayelsa, Niger, Kwara, Plateau, Enugu and Katsina states. On the other hand, governors backing Uzodimma reportedly include those from Kano, Taraba, Kebbi, Yobe, Lagos, Gombe, Kogi, Edo, Ekiti, Ondo, Sokoto, Jigawa, Ebonyi, Nasarawa and Kaduna states.
In a show of support, governors loyal to Uzodimma on Friday passed a vote of confidence in his leadership during what was described as an emergency meeting held at the Imo State Lodge in Abuja. The meeting came just hours after the forum dismissed reports alleging that Uzodimma had been removed as chairman. Among those present were Governors Umar Namadi of Jigawa, Hyacinth Alia of Benue, Nasir Idris of Kebbi, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, Abba Yusuf of Kano and Ahmed Ododo of Kogi.Also in attendance were Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi, Babagana Zulum of Borno, Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto, Agbu Kefas of Taraba, Uba Sani of Kaduna and Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo, while Nasarawa State Deputy Governor Emmanuel Akabe represented his principal.
Despite the growing tension, the exact cause of the disagreement remains unclear, as neither faction has released a formal statement detailing the issues behind the division. Earlier reports had suggested that Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah had emerged as the new chairman of the forum following an extraordinary APC governors’ meeting held in Abuja on Thursday night. The reports claimed that about 20 governors participated in the closed-door session, including governors from Ogun, Bayelsa and Enugu states, where the alleged leadership change was said to have been discussed.
Source: https://www.thecable.ng/
