� Obasanjo meets suspended House _ Ogbeh explains meeting with Lar From Funmi Peter-Omale in Jos, Chuks Okocha and Cletus Akwaya in Abuja, 11.05.2004
Twelve days to the expiration of the six-month emergency rule in Plateau State, the chances of suspended Governor Joshua Dariye returning to office look increasingly dim. President Olusegun Obasanjo is billed to meet with members of the Assembly on Monday, presumably to discuss the prospects of ending the emergency rule and the fate of the Dariye. Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national Chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has distanced himself from alleged plots to restore the embattled governor. He denied that his recent meeting with the state's first Executive Governor and pioneer national chairman of PDP, Chief Solomon Lar, was for that purpose; rather, it was to receive the position of the Plateau State Elders and Other Stakeholders, he said. But if Dariye were to heed the advice of the party's national assistant auditor in the North-central zone, Dr. Godwin Dabo' Adzuana, he would resign the office of state governor. Adzuana alleges that Dariye has fallen out of favour with most state indigenes and should thus resign in the interest of peace. THISDAY learnt that President Obasanjo's meeting with suspended state legislators, scheduled for 11 am, is linked with the impasse on whether Dariye should be allowed to return with the restoration of democratic structures after the expiration of the initial term of the state of emergency. Those expected at the meeting include all the 24 House members, the PDP national leadership as well as respected party stalwarts from the state. A member of the suspended House confirmed that they have been invited to meet with the President, but declined to disclose the agenda, saying he would not want to jeopardise the purpose of the meeting. State Administrator, Maj. Gen. Chris Alli (rtd), is currently off to Britain on medical check-up. Reports said he was last week directed by the President to prepare his handover notes for November 18th, even though indications as to who would take over the mantle of leadership are still very hazy. There are a number of contending forces who are really bent on ensuring that even if the state of emergency is lifted, the suspended governor should be made to resign and his deputy sworn in as the governor. Only last Wednesday, the state Council of Ulamas had a stormy four-hour meeting with Alli on why Dariye should not be allowed to return while his deputy, Michael Botmang, should be sworn in and and a Muslim deputy appointed this time around. Though he was said to have listened to their arguments, the administrator was quoted to have said he had no powers on such issues and advised the Ulamas to take their campaigns to the Presidency. In the last one week, inciting publications and leaflets in favour and against the restoration of Dariye to office have been flying around town. This development has created so much tension that the citizens are apprehensive of what would eventually happen in the event of either of the two propositions being implemented. Sources said the Presidency was not favorable to the idea of Dariye returning, but at the same time is not comfortable about the security implication of not restoring democratic structures. Government does not want to be seen to be working against the peace and harmony that has been achieved since the declaration of the state of emergency and the appointment of Alli as administrator. On the other hand, human rights groups, student bodies, youth organizations and religious bodies have continued to condemn the fact that the Presidency is tying the restoration of democratic structures to the resignation of Dariye. Specifically, the National Association of Plateau State Students (NAPSS) and the state youth council in their respective press statements have warned that the nascent peace achieved so far would be greatly eroded if the Federal Government yields to the malicious campaigns of "selfish few elders who are only out to settle political scores" to the detriment of other people in the state. The issue of when the suspension should be lifted and who should be handed over to has been generating furore and criticisms, to the extent that the PDP national leadership, the party's National Working Committee, the party caucus and members of the National Assembly have been sharply divided over the issue. PDP national chairman, Chief Ogbeh said his meeting with Chief Lar was to receive the position of the elders and other stakeholders and not to plot the return of Dariye. He also said that he was not aware that there were negative security reports against some PDP governors, adding that he holds them in high esteem. Reacting to a news report that the meeting with Lar was to plot a strategy on the return of Dariye, Special Assistant to the party chief, Thompson Abu, said: "Chief Lar only came to brief the National Chairman on the position of the Plateau State Elders and Other Stakeholders." It was gathered at the meeting between Ogbeh and Lar that Lar presented the position of the elders and stakeholders on the return of democratic rule to Plateau State. According to sources at the meeting, Lar told Ogbeh that the position of the indigenes of the state is that the suspended governor be reinstated as well as the State House of Assembly. Lar was quoted to have told Ogbeh at the meeting: "As far as we are concerned, all we are asking for is that Dariye be reinstated along with the State House of Assembly. Anything else, we do not care. But let the full democratic institutions under Dariye be restored." Abu also said that Ogbeh never made any statement where he claimed to have knowledge that there are negative security report on some PDP governors. "The chairman is not privy to any negative security report against PDP governors. He also holds the PDP governors in high esteem," the aide said. Another aide of Chief Ogbeh, on condition of anonymity, said the party has not shifted his stand on the issue. "What the national chairman, the caucus and the NWC are saying is that the state of emergency must be lifted at the expiration of the six months and all democratic structures be reinstated. The chairman is not person-specific, all he is saying is that no matter the allegations or the level of offences committed, normal and constitutional procedures must be followed." Dabo Adzuana, while fielding questions from journalists in Abuja yesterday, said it would not be in the interest of Plateau State for the suspended governor to be restored. He argued that Dariye had fallen out of favour with over 90 per cent of the indigenes of the state. Explaining that Dariye was his friend of over 14 years, Adzuana said his advice was based on his conviction of Dariye's love for Plateau State. According to him, the suspended governor should make whatever sacrifice he could to ensure peace returned to troubled state. "I have been speaking to the press calling for Dariye's reinstatement. But having been properly briefed and documentary evidence made available to me, I am convinced that there would be monumental chaos if he returns," he said, disclosing that he has written and faxed a leter to the suspended governor at his London residence conveying his position. Adzuana who said he was Dariye's mentor as Chairman of Benue Cement Company Plc where the suspended governor worked for many years, rising to the position of the General Manager Finance, said he had benefitted personally from Dariye in many ways. He however explained that his advice was a patriotic one as, in his view, Dariye would not be an effective governor were he to return to office. Alternatively, Dabo' Adzuana called on the Plateau State House of Assembly to impeach the governor after expiration of the state of emergency on November 18, citing what he described as 'incontrovertible evidence of corruption," against him.
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