Governors of the 19 Northern states in Nigeria under the umbrella body of Northern Governor’s Forum (NGF) after its two days meeting with Council of Emirs/Chiefs to discuss issues bedeviling the region and how to address them ended successfully on Tuesday in Kaduna, north-west Nigeria.
Chairman of the Forum cum Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima at the end of the meeting read the resolutions of the governors to newsmen as follows;
“The Northern Governors in pursuance of the primary objective of securing lives and properties of citizens in their respective States as enshrined to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended found it expedient to convene a Joint Extra Ordinary Meeting with Chairmen of the Council of Emirs/Chiefs of the respective Northern States. The meeting which was held on Monday 23rd January, 2017 was overwhelmingly attended by all stakeholders including the leadership of Northern Elders Forum and Arewa Consultative Forum.
On behalf of the Forum therefore, l wish to highlight some of the outcomes of our meeting held today, Tuesday 24th January, 2017.
(a) The meeting resolved to accept the recommendations of the Body of the Attorneys General of the 19 Northern States to domesticate the model penal code, the model Fiscal Responsibility Law and the model Administration of Criminal Justice Law through the necessary legislative actions and subject to the individual peculiarities of the State in order to ensure transparency, prudent management of public funds as well as smooth dispensation of criminal justice in the region.
(b) The management of NNDC presented the progress report of its activities with a detailed report on the 5 year Development Plan which seeks to transform the Company’s fortunes. The Forum considered the progress report presented by the management of NNDC, noted the company’s achievements in the Oil and Gas Sectors, its partnership with Savannah Petroleum in the exploration of Oil at the Chad Basin, the effort of the company towards resuscitation of Kaduna Textiles Limited, establishment of a financial institution, exploration of solar power as an alternative source of energy, as well as solid minerals.
The Forum resolved that: –
(i) The management of NNDC should evolve a comprehensive Business Plan and present to the Forum at the April, 2017 meeting;
(ii) The Governors of Kaduna and Sokoto States should lead in the discussion on power and financial institution respectively and report progress at the next meeting;
(c) The Committee that undertook the Study of New Nigeria Newspapers Company Limited (NNNC) made their submission and the Forum resolved. It further resolved to restructure the company to a modern media outfit.
(d) The Forum was briefed on the achievements of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation which includes, Free Medical and Scholarship Programmes, Vocational Training of about 2,700 youths in the North. The meeting expressed appreciation to the Foundation and noted the need to synergize the activities on similar organizations of Northern origin like Arewa Consultative Forum/Northern Elders Forum with the Foundation in order to achieve a common purpose.
(e) The meeting also accepted the far-reaching recommendations of the Chairmen, Northern States Council of Emirs/Chiefs on the current security challenges and the socio-economic problems bedeviling the region. It expressed its appreciation to the Council to their support, insight and bringing to bear their vast experience on the issue of security and social well-being of the people.
Therefore, the Forum resolved to collectively tackle the issue of insecurity as one entity.
Gentlemen of the Press, although these are pockets of challenges in some parts of Northern Nigeria, the Forum wishes to put on record the efforts made by the Federal Government in curbing criminality in the polity. Indeed the greatest of our appreciation goes to Mr. President, Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR for providing the necessary leadership to the Country to subdue Boko Haram insurgency and the drive to rid the Country of all forms of vices that bedevil our society.
The Forum also wish to extend its condolences to the Government and People of Borno State over the accidental bombing at Rann of Kala-Balge Local Government whereby several lDPs lost their lives and thanks all those who have commiserated with the families of the victims. Similarly, the Forum sympathizes with the families of victims in Southern Kaduna who lost their lives during the unfortunate incident and assured all and sundry that the crises will soon be a thing of the past, as Kaduna State Government is on top of the situation. The Forum noted that the crisis is being aggravated by the activities of some mischievous elements within the State and outside the region.
We wish to commend the efforts of Kaduna State Governments for the prompt actions taken so for in arresting the situation.
The Forum is also grateful to His Eminence the Sultan of Sokoto and all the other Chairmen, Northern States Traditional Council of Emirs/Chiefs and other stakeholders who have made the meeting a successful and fruitful one.
On this note, l thank you all Gentlemen of the Press and be assured that you will see more of our appearances for the Forum meeting more frequently to lift the North to greater heights.”
