The smiles put on the faces of senators on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by President Goodluck Jonathan after his last Thursday’s meeting with the former, fizzled out on Wednesday when the lawmakers got wind of the information that governors had opposed the automatic tickets promised them by the president. During the president’s truce meeting with the aggrieved senators last Thursday night, Jonathan, along with National Working Committee (NWC) members of PDP had resolved to give return tickets to at least two senators from each state ahead of the 2015 polls.
The promise followed the senators’ boycott of plenaries throughout last week, alleging betrayal by the president as a result of their losses at the November 1 ward congresses of the party in their various states. They also alleged that the president had handed PDP structures to governors and so threatened to shut down Jonathan’s government until he addressed their grievances.
While the senators, except those who were still not favoured to return despite the promise of automatic tickets, had celebrated the outcome of Thursday’s meeting with the president to high heavens, their spirits were again dampened yesterday after they were briefed during their caucus meeting on the outcome of the governors’ meeting with the president on Tuesday.
A source at the meeting said the senators were unhappy with the turn of events with one of them saying at the meeting that PDP ticket was fast becoming a “poisoned chalice.” It was also learnt that the depth of bitterness over the development had forced some PDP senators notably in the North-east to begin to contemplate possibly dumping the party for another.
“We were told at the meeting that governors met with the President late on Tuesday and resolved that the party should allow them review the issue of automatic tickets to senators on a state-by-state basis instead of granting automatic tickets to the senators, just like that. We see this as a ploy to outwit the senators and undermine our agreement with President Jonathan and the party.
“We believe that the move by the governors is a fresh bid to shortchange the lawmakers and reverse the conclusion of the meeting we held with the President and the party. Senators are not happy and I can tell you that a number of people are already contemplating ditching the party.
“If care is not taken, the PDP could become a minority party in the Senate before the end of the year. The danger again is that going back and forth on agreements reached with the highest organs of the PDP is painting a bad picture of the party,” the source said.
Nevertheless, Wednesday’s caucus meeting was said to have mandated Senate President David Mark to follow up the matter with a view to ensuring that senators’ interests are protected.
