• Jang-led Secretariat Deserted
• Traders In Port Harcourt Decry Closure Of Assembly
THE crack in the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) is taking its toll on the polity, even as the hope of re-consolidating the two parallel offices run concurrently by Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and his Plateau State counterpart, Jonah Jang, remains elusive.
For instance, only seven of 36 governors attended the two-day retreat organised by the Amaechi-led faction of the NGF in Sokoto at the weekend. Governors in attendance were Amaechi, Alhaji Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko (the host governor). Others are Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Fayemi Kayode (Ekiti) and Abdul-Aziz Yari Abubakar (Zamfara).
The five governors of Kano, Niger, Jigawa, Kwara and Oyo states were, however, represented by their deputies.
Noble Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, the Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Arch Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, former EFCC Chairman, Malam Nuhu Ribadu and former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais, also participated in the ‘retreat.’
Although the programme of events included an address from President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the President was neither present nor represented.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who arrived the Giginya Coral Hotel venue of the retreat towards the end of the programme, however, participated in the closed-door session.
Subsequently, a group, under the auspices of National Coalition for Good Governance (NACOGG), yesterday, cautioned the NGF members against overheating the polity.
Speaking through its national coordinator, Dr. Anyanwu Darlington, the group charged the governors to show good examples in leadership and learn from the unity of purpose recently displayed by the Golden Eaglets at the recent FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
The group also called on opposition parties, including the G7 governors, to be more constructive in their criticism and stop making inflammatory and inciting statements, against the President of the country.
As the crack in the wall widens, the Director General of the Amaechi-led faction, Asishana Okauru, told The Guardian that all the factions including the Presidency are hurt by the imbroglio.
After an initial façade by the DG’s men that there was no split in the NGF, he, later, explained to The Guardian the impact of the proliferation to the Forum and the Secretariat’s mode of operations.
According to him, “it’s not just the forum; across board, a lot of stakeholders, including the Federal Government, MDAs, development partners and other foreign bodies have been hurt as well.”
Okauru noted that, from time to time, “there are very interesting policy initiatives at the federal level for which the Federal Government would want the governors on the same page. Now, a number of such initiatives are not getting the right kind of attraction they ought to be getting and I could mention a number of them, from education to budget, among others.”
Okauru had given the assurance the 36 governors would attend the Sokoto retreat, saying that the division in the NGF would not stand the test of time. He said the governors have no other choice than to work as a family in the interest of all stakeholders.
Meanwhile, employees at the two NGF Secretariats, last week, complained of lull in operations, saying the funding needed to run the offices was no longer forthcoming.
Describing the governors as their principal, the DG’s men at the Amaechi-led NGF took turns to explain that the secretariat remains very functional, even as they claimed that member governors still identify with the programmes. They said they are convinced that the events playing out at the Forum border on political gimmicks. The workers agreed that their morale has been reduced to the lowest ebb by the split.
But Okauru confirmed that the Forum has remained financially and physiologically handicapped, as development partners stay away.
“I agree with you within the public space that the Forum as a unit is experiencing some challenges, which especially flowed out of the elections in May. The major challenge, of course, is getting all the 36 governors together and overtime the challenge associated with the difficulties of trying to put them together is hurting the leverage of the Forum.
The May 24th 2013 (s)election of a chairman to lead the NGF brought to the fore the inability of the supposed custodians of Nigeria’s democracy to conduct a credible election, even just among 36 of them.
If the words of the man who superintended the elections are anything to go by, the accusations of foul play, rigging and non-adherence to procedure, rules and regulations that followed the announcement of the result, were enough evidence that “Their Excellencies,” have really shot themselves in the foot.
Overall, many political observers are of the opinion that the NGF is irrelevant to Nigeria as a country, because most of the issues that interest them are neither beneficial to the country’s development objectives nor to the citizenry.
The Peer review objective of the Forum was hampered. For instance, in three years, only two (2) states — Anambra and Ekiti States — where assessed, albeit inconclusively. The result was roundly criticised by governors of the affected states.
“So, it is to the advantage of the governors to be together, support each other and be united as a body with one voice, instead of the present situation,” Okauru said.
Further more, as indicated in communiqués issued at the end of every meeting between October and December of 2012, all the Forum was interested in was local government autonomy, revenue allocation and devolution of powers and of course Polio eradication. Suffice it that there was a hot agitation for the Federal Government to release part of the Excess Crude Account money kept in reserve to the states to use “in executing capital projects”.
A lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Abuja, Olusola Abitoye, said the NGF should have been “a good platform to draw the attention of the Federal Government to the needs of the states or where the central government fails in her responsibility to the states, the body can intervene to salvage the situation.
But the case is that it is all about allocation to the states and how much that should be drawn from the Federation Account and the funds from the external reserves.”
He recalled that the governors supported the $7.9bn external borrowing for pipeline projects, under the medium term expenditure framework (MTEF) for 2012 to 2014, in a vague plan to meet the development needs of Nigeria.
Governor Jang and his group, who are alleged to be the President’s men, have also not met for two months now. The Acting Sole Administrator at the No. 2 Nana Close, off Erie Crescent, Nile Street, Maitama Abuja, Osaro Onaiwu, who has been away for sometime could not be reached for comments.
But investigation shows that most of the staff were hurriedly hired in order to meet up with the 30th May 2013 commissioning date of the factional Secretariat, even as their salary structure is allegedly inconsistent. It is, however, said that their wages paid regularly.
There was no reaction from the Jang-led faction as at the time of filing this report. A middle-aged man, who simply identified himself as Wale, at the faction’s deserted office in Maitama said the DG was in a meeting and promised to arrange an appointment with him.
But Rivers State Commissioner for Information, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, insists that the crisis has not distracted Governor Amaechi from governance.
“The job of the Governor is to have a dream and ensure that those dreams and visions are implemented through the assistance of the commissioners.
“Here, in Rivers State, there are several developmental projects; some have been completed while some are still ongoing,” she said.
Besides, activities in the State House of Assembly have been grounded since July this year sequel to the mayhem that erupted when some lawmakers allegedly attempted to impeach the Speaker, Otelemaba Amachree, a move that was foiled by Pro-Amaechi lawmakers.
The crisis continued the following day after the foiled impeachment when pro-Wike lawmakers, led by Evans Bipi, tried to preside over the House. However, to avoid further chaos in the state parliament, the National Assembly resolved and took over the functions and duties of the State Assembly pending the resolution of the crisis and restoration of peace in the State legislature.
Five months down the line, the State parliament has remained shut down. People doing business along Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, where the Assembly Complex is located lamented the negative impact of the shutdown. They grieve that the ugly situation has halted business activities, at least within the area
Source: Guardian
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