SINCE the thirty-six state
governors came together
and formed a group known
as the Nigeria Governors’
Forum, NGF, and inaugurated
it in April 1999, they have
been very strong and spoke
vehemently with one voice
on national issues.
The group, modelled after
the National Governors’
Association (NGA) of the
United States of America,
was designed to bring the
governors together and
share experiences, promote
cooperation among states,
serve as a mechanism for
conflict resolution as well as
an agent for dispute
resolution between states
and the Federal Government.
From its first meeting
organised by the National
Democratic Institute for
International Affairs (NDI)
with funding from the
United States Agency for
International Development
(USAID), the governors spoke
in unison once an issue was
brought before them.
Disagreements could occur
during brainstorming
sessions, but once there was
an agreement reached, no
governor or group of
governors would kick
against the agreement. The
NGF, which was registered
under Part C of the
Companies and Allied Matters
Act, (CAMA), 1990, draws its
legality from Section 40 of
the 1999 Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Since inception, the Forum
has produced five Chairmen
from Senator Abdullahi
Adamu, former Governor of
Nasarawa State-1999 –
2004; Arc. (Obong) Victor
Attah, former Governor of
Akwa Ibom State,2004 –
2006; Mr. Lucky Igbinedion,
Former Governor of Edo
State, 2006 – 2007; Senator
Abubakar Bukola Saraki,
Former Governor of Kwara
State,2007 – 2011 and the
incumbent, the governor of
Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Rotimi
Chibuike Amaechi, who took
over on May 29, 2011.
Abiola Ajimobi, Rabiu
Kwankwaso, Rochas
Okorocha and Ibikunle
Amosun
With its interventionist roles,
what obtained then was that
the fear of the governors
was the beginning of
wisdom. The forum became
the beginning and last resort
in the decision making by
the president, party
chairmen and leaders of the
party. The NGF, at the party
level, determined who
became the National
Chairman especially that of
the Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP.
Whenever there were threats
by the National Assembly to
impeach the then President
Olusegun Obasanjo, the
forum reared its head and
stood resolutely against the
move on the premise that it
would impact negatively on
the country’s democracy.
Also during the revenue
allocation case against the
Federal Government at the
Supreme Court, the NGF
vociferously pursued its
position and the states won,
just as the body was there to
help avert strikes that would
have crippled the economy
during the deregulation and
liberalisation of the oil sector.
At the political level,
whenever it was time to
decide who became the
president of Nigeria, the
governors were there
through the NGF and they
always had their ways. The
forum was there for its
former colleague, the then
governor of Katsina State, the
late Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua
for president and then
Governor Goodluck Jonathan
of Bayelsa State for the vice
presidency and they won.
All these undoubtedly
brought the governors
together, but the events of
the last couple of weeks have
triggered the question, are
they still together? The
answer is no. This comes
against the backdrop that
the northern governors are
manoeuvring to whittle
down the efficiency of the
NGF on the issue of the state
police.
The governors, under their
chairman, Amaechi, are
pushing for a constitutional
amendment for state police.
The NGF, had, at the end of
its meeting held at the Rivers
State Governor’s Lodge,
Asokoro, Abuja, June 25,
called for the establishment
of state police.
Present at the meeting was
the Chairman, Northern
States Governors’ Forum and
governor of Niger State, Dr.
Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu. Also
in attendance were Amaechi
and his counterparts from
Borno; Enugu; Sokoto; Delta;
Taraba; Ekiti; Oyo; Kwara;
Plateau; Zamfara; Kogi;
Nasarawa; Kaduna; Abia,
and Anambra.
The deputy governors of
Ondo, Jigawa, Kano,
Adamawa and Lagos were
equally there.
In a communiqué signed by,
the NGF chairman, Amaechi
at the end of the meeting,
the governors noted that
state police was a strategy
for combating the rising
insecurity in the country.
The communiqué read, ‘’We,
the governors of the 36
States of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria, at our meeting,
deliberated over a number of
issues. The following
resolutions were reached:
‘’Forum strongly condemned
the current spate of
insecurity and violence
which has been drifting the
nation towards anarchy and
called for a multi-dimensional
approach to security issues
including enhanced
coordination and
collaboration among security
forces, effective use of
technology and intelligence,
value re-orientation,
employment generation and
sincerity of purpose.
‘’Forum reiterated its
commitment to convene a
Governors’ Forum
Conference on Security in
Nigeria. State governments
are currently overstretched
in funding security and called
for a special intervention
fund from the Federal
Government, especially to the
states that are most affected.
‘’Finally, the forum identified
the increasing need for state
police as a strategy for
combating the rising
insecurity in the country.”
Things started falling apart
for the united NGF when the
northern governors came up
with another decision
jettisoning the already
agreed position on state
police, thirty-three days after
such a meeting took place
and a communiqué issued.
The northern governors,
who had agreed on 25 June
on state police, suddenly
made a u-turn to the chagrin
of others that the country
was not ripe for state police
and that the present
structure of central police
should remain.
The nineteen northern state
governors, after their
meeting held at the Niger
State Governor’s Lodge,
Asokoro, Abuja, July 27,
unanimously kicked against
the move for the
establishment of state police.
In a communiqué signed on
behalf of the governors from
the north by their Chairman,
Aliyu, they noted that rather
than have in place state
police, the Constitution must
be amended to allow for
state governors to control
commissioners of police in
their respective states.
The communiqué read in
part, ‘’The Forum is not in
support of creation of state
police. It, however, resolved
to prevail on the Federal
Government to embark on
police reform that will assist
the states in control and
management of police
affairs, and sound
philosophy of modern
policing by amending the
provision of Section 215.”
The Section reads ‘’Subject to
the provision of this section,
the governor of a state or
such commissioner of the
government of the state as
he may authorize may give to
the Commissioner of Police
of that state such lawful
directions with respect to
the maintenance and
securing of public safety and
public order within the state
as he may consider
necessary, a Commissioner of
Police shall comply with
those directions or cause
them to be complied with.”
The meeting was attended
by 18 of the 19 governors
from the North.
At the penultimate
Wednesday’s meeting of the
NGF, the issue was not
mentioned for the fear of
causing crisis between the
northern governors and
their southern counterparts.
The meeting, which took
place at the Rivers State
Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro,
Abuja, was sparingly
attended. Even Aliyu, the
northern governors leader,
who was believed to be in
Abuja, stayed away from the
parley.
The meeting had in
attendance ten governors
with only four from the
North, eight deputies with
only two from the North, and
came to end without the
usual media briefing by the
NGF Chairman and governor
of Rivers, Rotimi Amaechi.
Present at the meeting were
governors of Rivers; Ekiti;
Ondo; Ebonyi; Kaduna;
Sokoto; Akwa Ibom; Kogi
and Kano while the deputy-
governors were those of
Abia; Delta; Adamawa;
Bayelsa; Nasarawa; Imo; Oyo
and Lagos.
With the disagreement in the
family of the NGF, the
questions are legion. Are the
governors still together? Can
they still fight in unison?
How will the Amaechi-led
NGF harmonize the positions
of the governors on the
matter of state police? Will
the northern governors shift
ground.
? Why did they accept to
have state police, only to
make a u-turn thirty-three
days after? Was it that they
never carried out wider
consultations among their
people? Is there crack in the
house of Amaechi?
It is hoped that the issue of
state police will not becloud
the governors where, at the
end of the day, there would
no meaningful contributions
from them on the ongoing
constitutional amendment by
the National Assembly. They
must not throw away the
.ba.by with the bath water.

They already have sharia police(hisbah) in their respective state and yet they say no to state police. DECEPTION in high places.

The North always wins. . .even when the South is in power.

Callotti: The North always wins. . .even when the South is in power.

It is not win perse. Its the sense of contentment that make it seem so. An average southerner can not be satisfied with anything even if you give him the whole Nigeria, he is going to demand for something else. So the south always look like the losing side. In the real sense of it, the south is not losing. The northern masses are the most dehumanized in Nigeria.

Callotti: The North always wins. . .even when the South is in power.

yes because we have yorober in the south! thats why