By Igho Akeregha and Ben Ogbemudia
Abuja
Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party yesterday arrived in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital for a two-day strategic and brainstorming session ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The convergence of the 11 governors in the Garden City is seen by political pundits as a crucial step to consolidate the recent gains of the PDP which surmounted extreme hurdles to hold its National Congress that produced a new set of party leadership.

A statement by the Special Assistant Media to the Rivers State Governor, Mr Kelvin Ebiri, disclosed the meeting which moves into strategy session on Monday (today) after a gala night yesterday (Sunday) will focus on the PDP’s consolidation on rescue and rebuilding the Nigeria project.

The Director-General of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Mr Cyril Maduabum, said the meeting will also be reviewing the state of the states, the state of the nation, and readiness of the PDP to provide the necessary leadership to rescue and rebuild Nigeria.

“All the elected PDP governors are expected to attend the meeting to be presided over by the Chairman of the Forum, Aminu Tambuwal. The meeting will be preceded by a Gala night to be hosted by the Chief Host, His Excellency, Governor Nyesom Wike.”

Maduabum added that the PDP governors are working in concert and consultations with other leaders of the party and in particular, the Senator Iyorchia Ayu-led National Executive Committee of the party to craft a credible process and programme for Nigeria’s positive rebirth.

He explained that Ayu has been invited to attend the Port Harcourt meeting to hold consultations with the governors on strategies for executing the rescue and rebuild Nigeria project.

Among others, the governors will do an appraisal of ongoing reconciliatory efforts in Ekiti and Osun states where governorship elections are billed to hold this year.

Speaking to ThisNigeria on his expectation from the PDP Governors meeting, a security strategist and expert, David Okoror said, “The governors should be aware by now that Nigerians are looking for any ray of hope from anywhere that there can be the solution to the intractable problems confronting Nigeria, especially insecurity.”

According to the renowned security analysts, PDP can only hope to get the support of Nigerians to return to power only if they can show clearly how they hope to recruit competent professionals, visionary, tested, and trusted Nigerians, men and women of integrity to present for the next elections. People are sick and tired and will not tolerate business as usual.

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To address the lingering and mounting security challenges, Okoror observed that the PDP must be willing to look for competent and committed professionals who would not be driven by ethnic, religious, political, or pecuniary considerations, but people that can provide alternative, bold and clear thinking and be willing to take decisive actions.

“Our security wars are winnable within a very short time if the right people are given the job and supported accordingly,” he said.

Okoror advised the PDP governors to quickly go around the country to massively attract and recruit competent and respected Nigerians and professionals into the party.

“I promise them for free that this would be the game-winner for the upcoming general elections. These people would come into the party with new energies, ideas, resources, connections among others,” he said.

A senior editor and newspaper columnist, Mr Majid Dahiru, who also lent his opinion to this newspaper, said the PDP governors will be expected to take a position on some critical national issues.

“These issues may include insecurity, economic crisis, the electoral act amendment bill, and power rotation between the north and south of the country,” he stressed.

In addition to lamenting the worsening situation of insecurity and economic crisis, Dahiru noted that the PDP governors are expected to put forward their solutions to these problems.

On the now controversial electoral act amendment bill, Dahiru explains, “The PDP governors have to take a position with regards to the president’s decline of assent and come up with an action plan to mobilise their members in the national assembly to explore the next line of legislative action.”

While it might be too early to take a definite position on the issue of power rotation and zoning of power between the north and south of Nigeria, Dahiru seems to align with the view already expressed by many Nigerians as he urged the governors to initiate a deliberation on it with the aim of not sailing against the wind in the 2023 presidential election.

However, Dahiru was emphatic that of utmost importance Nigerians expect the PDP governors to come up with far-reaching resolutions backed by actionable plans on how to reposition the PDP into an ideologically driven political party that is prepared to tackle the challenges of socioeconomic underdevelopment if given the opportunity in 2023.

As the governors return to their various states between Monday and Tuesday after the deliberations, the expectations by Nigerians remain high that their party would live up to the new promises.

A roll call of the PDP governors is Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom), Duoye Diri (Bayelsa), and Samuel Ortom of Benue state.

Others are Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Oluwaseyi Makinde (Oyo), Ezenwo Nyesome Wike (Rivers), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), and Darius Ishaku (Taraba).