The Northern States Governor’s Forum has set up a high-powered committee to look into the implications of restructuring on the region and the country in general.
This was the position of the northern states’ governors in a statement issued at the end of their meeting in Kaduna, on Friday, which was read by the Katsina State governor, Alhaji Aminu Masari.
The governor said the committee was mandated to collect and collate the views of the various agitations for restructuring from individuals, groups and corporate organisations.
The committee is to come up with an acceptable, tenable and sustainable position for the Northern Region, in consonance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended and as well as take into cognisance the current constitutional amendment processes going on in the National Assembly.
According to Masari, the committee would be headed by the Sokoto State governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal.
Other members of the committee are the governors of Nassarawa, Benue, Gombe and Kaduna states, the emirs of Kano, Gummi, Zazzau, Etsu Nupe and Gbong Gom Jos, while the deputy governor of Plateau State would serve as the secretary.
The Forum also reaffirmed its commitment to national unity, peaceful co-existence and the rights of all Nigerians to reside and own property in any part of the country, as guaranteed by the constitution.
“We reassure all Nigerians who live in the North of our readiness to protect their lives and property. We therefore call on our colleagues in the South to emulate this gesture,” Masari said.
Meanwhile, the pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, carpeted the northern governors for setting up the committee, describing the action as deceitful.
This was contained in its reaction sent to Saturday Tribune, on Friday, by its spokesman, Mr Yinka Odumakin.
“The northern governors’ decision on restructuring, coming hours after their parliamentarians shut down devolution of powers in the National Assembly, is a mere taunt. Like their fronts in APC chose anti-restructuring Nasir el-Rufai to define the term, they have chosen Tambuwal to head their own panel.
“It is laughable that the descendants of those who demanded for confederacy to return to after they walked out from the federal parliament in protest against the Action Group (AG) motion for independence and at the 1967 Ad-hoc constitutional conference called by General Yakubu Gowon can now be pretending not to know what federalism means.
“They are free to play the ostrich while the Republic gradually disappears because of the temporary advantage they hold over Nigeria. The bell surely tolls as it is pretty clear that Nigeria can no longer run successfully on the current terms,” he said.
and then