NGF: Aliyu betrayed us — Yuguda

[PeoplesDaily]

From Mohammad Ibrahim & Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

Breaking his silence since he dumped the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF), Bauchi state Governor, Isa Yuguda, said yesterday that the crisis rocking the leadership of the Governors Forum (NGF) was as a result of the betrayal of the NSGF chairman, Governor Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State.

Yuguda was at the Presidential Villa to confer with President Goodluck Jonathan over undisclosed issues.

He told State House correspondents that the 19 governors who are members of the NSGF had agreed in principle that Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau was their consensus candidate for the post of the NGF leadership.

The subsequent crisis could have been averted if Aliyu had provided astute leadership and direction, he claimed.

According to Yuguda, "my word should be my bond. If I had sat down with 19 of my colleagues and we agreed on something, I should not see the chairman of that forum not coming to protect the integrity of the Northern Governors Forum and by extension the Nigerian Governors Forum and that is why I say all the crisis and all the unfortunate comments made about the governors today, the fault should be traced to the Northern Governors Forum because we are the culprits. And that is why I say on his honour, let the chairman of the Northern Governors Forum come out and tell Nigerians that either we in the forum did not come out with Jang as our consensus candidate or we, 19 governors, picked Jang as our consensus candidate."

He explained that he decided to quit the NSGF because he felt that leadership is about integrity and honour, and having taken the path of dignity, it would be inconsistent with his status to continue to pitch his tent with Aliyu as a person.

According to him, his deputy would seat on the NSGF on behalf of his state, noting that, "that means as a person, I don't want to attend their meeting but my deputy can attend on behalf of the people and government of Bauchi State.

"But as a person, I will not. That has always been my position."

The Bauchi governor said: "Let me assure you that if there is no such code of conduct and ethics in office of a governor, very soon, nobody will want to be a governor. Go and think and sleep over this and you will confirm that I am right.

"There is honour in leadership and God sanctions leadership. If God has anctioned leadership in our books of faith, I cannot see evil associated with leadership. So anybody that associates politics with evil and wants to play the evil way is not part of us.

"You are all young men and my heart bleeds for all of you because there must be integrity in governance.

"We, your governors should be men of high integrity, we should be role models and we should not play evil politics because most people associate politics with evil. If you don't know how to tell lies, if you don't know how to betray, if you don't know how to have double face, you are not a good politician. But me I am not carved out for that."

Curiously, only five governors attended yesterday's meeting of the Northern State Governors Forum in Kaduna.

The governors that attended the meeting are the Chairman, Babangida Aliyu of Niger; Sule Lamido of Jigawa; Ibrahim Dankwanbo of Gombe; Tanko Almakura of Nasarawa; and the host governor, Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna State. The others were represented by their deputies.

The northern governors in support of Mr. Jang are believed to have shelved the meeting in protest against what they considered a betrayal during the NGF meeting.

Hours before last month's meeting and chairmanship election of the NGF, the northern governors had met and reportedly endorsed Mr. Jang as their candidate for chairman.

The result of the election, in which Mr. Jang lost to Mr. Amaechi by 16 votes to 19, however showed that some of the northern governors did not vote for the Plateau Governor.

"I know there was election (NGF) that someone won. We are having problems and we will solve it," Aliyu said while responding to questions from newsmen yesterday.

The traditional press briefing prior to the meeting proper was unusually shelved.

Aliyu simply asked journalists to leave the venue of the meeting so that the governors could meet.

The meeting started around 11:00 a.m. and ended around 1:30 p.m.

A communiqué signed by the chairman at the end of the meeting expressed concern over the economic problems facing the nation and the north in particular and resolved to have an economic plan that would emanate from the states, zones and the region to form a basis for economic development.

The governors also promised to send a delegation to the state to condole the government and people of Nassarawa State over the civil unrest and killings of security operatives and colossal loss of lives and property.

The Forum also asked northern states to study the recommendations in the Draft White Paper of the Committee on Reconciliation, Healing and Security and promptly implement them as appropriate in the interest of peaceful co-existence and development of the country.

On the Petroleum Industry Bill, the meeting noted that member states had already articulated and forwarded their various positions on the bill to the National Assembly. The forum therefore resolved to continue to engage members of the National Assembly for the speedy passage of the bill in the overall interest of all.

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