The 19 northern governors of Nigeria have constituted a committee headed by the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal.
Members of the committee include governors of Nasarawa, Gombe, Benue, Bauchi, and Kaduna. The emirs of Kano, Zazzau,Gummi, as well as the Etsu Nupe and Gbong Gwom Jos are also members.
The deputy governor of Plateau State is to serve as secretary of the committee.
Incidentally, the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, who is a member of the committee, also chairs a newly established committee on restructuring by Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
A communique read by Katsina State governor, Aminu Masari, on behalf of the Northern State Governor’s Forum, NSGF, chairman and Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, at the end of a two-day meeting in Kaduna on Friday, said the committee is to collate views and comments on the state of the nation with specific reference to the agitations for restructuring of the country which according to the governors “has assumed different meanings to different people.”
They urged the federal government to urgently ensure the reconstitution of the federal character commission, federal civil service commission and revenue mobilisation, allocation and fiscal commission to enable them discharge their constitutional responsibilities.
“Failure to do so has so far resulted in lopsided appointments,” the commission said.
The forum observed that the clashes between farmers and cattle rearers worsened with the infiltration of criminal elements from outside the region who posed as Fulani herdsmen to engage in deadly conflicts to create disunity and crisis in the North.
They advised people to stop ethnicising the deadly conflicts and crimes and to stop associating violence with the Fulani ethnic group.
The forum called for more grazing reserves and provision of adequate infrastructure in such reserves by way of addressing the needs of cattle rearers and those of their animals before the enactment of the appropriate legislation which according to them, “will also ameliorate the challenges.”
“The escalating clashes between farmers and cattle rearers due to lack of enforcement of security is alarming.
“The situation is worsened by the infiltration of criminal elements from outside the region who posed as Fulani herdsmen and deliberately engage farmers in deadly conflicts to create disunity and unnecessary crisis in the region.
“The forum therefore discourages ethnicising the deadly conflicts and crimes with the Fulani tribe as any other could be cattle rearers too.”
They however,condemned in strong terms the recent violence un Taraba, Kaduna and Borno states.
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