Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State has said his return to the Northern States Governors' Forum is as a result of the respect he has for the elders from the region.
Yuguda added that there was no love lost between him and the factional Chairman of the Nigeria Governors' Forum, who is also the Governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang.
The governor, who spoke with reporters in Abuja on Wednesday, had pulled out of the NSGF because of the refusal of some of the governors from the region to vote for Jang during the NGF election, which the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, won.
Yuguda was livid with anger that some of the governors, even after they endorsed Jang for the election, went ahead to vote for Amaechi.
This made Yuguda to pull out of the NSGF, saying some of the governors there were not sincere.
The governor had also vowed that he would not return to the Forum if the NSGF Chairman, Governor Aliyu Babangida of Niger State, did not speak to the world on the decision they reached before the NGF poll in Abuja on May 24.
Defending his return to the NSGF, Yuguda said, "As elders, who I respect so much, I cannot say no to them. They have beckoned on me to reconsider my decision and return to the forum, which works for the interest of the people. That is why I am returning to the NSGF.
"I recognise that the words of elders are words of wisdom and since I represent their interest as a leader, I have to listen to their yearnings and aspirations at all times."
The Punch