Northern Governors Forum, the celebrated umbrella body of the 19 governors of northern Nigeria, has fallen apart since the election that produced two parallel chairmen at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF.
It was obvious yesterday in Kaduna when the forum’s meeting was poorly attended by stakeholders.
The main agenda of the meeting was to iron out the differences between the two ‘winners’ and accept one as the authentic leader of the NGF.
Only five out of the 19 northern governors were in attendance.
Nigerian Pilot reliably gathered that they could not reach a truce on the matter; so they remained divided.
The governors that were in attendance were those of Niger, Kaduna, Gombe, Jigawa and Nassarawa States.
However, Zamfara, Kogi and Sokoto States were represented by their deputies.
Niger State governor, Babangida Aliyu, who is the chairman of the forum, still presided while Jonah Jang of Plateau State was conspicuously absent.
Governor Isah Yuguda of Bauchi State had vowed not to attend the forum again until 2015, alleging betrayal on the part of his colleagues whom he said all agreed to vote Jang but turned round to vote Amaech of Rivers State.
At the end of the meeting, a communiqué was issued which dealt extensively on issues affecting northern Nigeria and among which were visiting Nasarawa State on condolence over the recent civil unrest, urging member states who are yet to redeem their pledges on New Nigerian Newspapers to do so quickly while issues on Kaduna Textiles Limited were slated for the next meeting of the forum.
Meanwhile, a member of the Northern Governors’ Forum, Alhaji Aliyu Wamako of Sokoto State who was suspended by the National Working Committee, NWC, of the PDP, is enjoying loyalty from his state party.
The State Working Committee of the party yesterday accused the NWC of the party of taking irrational decisions without recourse to the party constitution..
Addressing a press conference in Sokoto, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Arzika Tureka with other party leaders, members of the state House of Assembly and supporters, lamented that the National Working Committee of the party applied sentiments in arriving at its position contrary to Article 21 of the party constitution.
The PDP in the state also maintained that it would remain committed to the state governor, irrespective of the obvious challenges.
Meanwhile, the PDP yesterday stated that Wamako’s suspension had nothing to do with the NGF elections.
The spokesperson of the PDP, Olisa Metuh in a statement Thursday, said the decision to suspend Mr. Wamakko came after very wide and exhaustive consultations, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution of the PDP and in the overriding interest of the party.
“It is important to note that the reason for the suspension of Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko predates the Nigeria Governors’ Forum’s election,” the statement said.