Northern Govs Forum in Disarray over NGF Crisis

Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda

The aftermath of the election of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) continues to reverberate and is posing a serious threat to the existence of the Northern States Governors' Forum (NSGF), an umbrella body for the governors of the 19 northern states.

In protest over what some northern governors have described as an act of betrayal by some of their colleagues who voted for the Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi to retain his position as chairman of the NGF, 14 northern governors stayed away from the NSGF meeting, which took place in Kaduna thursday.

Also opening up on why he had opted out of the NSGF, Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda, did not mince words thursday when he accused the Niger State Governor and Chairman of the NSGF, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, of betrayal.

Prior to the NGF chairmanship election, the governors on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had met and asked their colleagues – Yuguda and the Katsina State Governor, Ibrahim Shema – who had thrown their hats into the ring, to step down for the Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang, as the consensus candidate of the party.

However, during the election, five of the northern governors turned around to vote for Amaechi, thus handing victory in the chairmanship contest to the River State governor.

Owing to the crisis that has ensued since then and the factionalisation of the NGF, only five of the governors attended the meeting of the NSGF.

However, seven northern governors were represented by their deputies, two by their Secretaries to the State Government (SSG), two were absent but sent their apologies, while three stayed away.

The governors, who attended the meeting, included  Aliyu, Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Tanko Almakura (Nasarawa), Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo (Gombe) and the host governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna State.