MALAMI, DALUNG: WHAT JONATHAN TOLD NORTHERN ELDERS

The meeting between President Jonathan and the Northern Elders Forum on Wednesday night was useful and if the pledges are implemented, security challenges in the North will be surmounted, one of the elders Alhaji Shehu Malami has said. Malami told Daily Trust yesterday all the concerns raised by the group in its memo to the president in May last year were addressed, including amnesty to Boko Haram.

“The president did not run away from any question raised,” he said, adding that “from the statistics given out by the president and his team, there was no doubt that they had given some thought to our memo.”

Daily Trust learnt that leader of the delegation Alhaji Maitama Sule had stressed to the President that the elders did not aim at criticising his administration but helping him to succeed, as “the success of his government is the success of the entire country.”

After the president spoke, Vice President Namadi Sambo took his turn and spoke for about 25 to 30 minutes, elaborating areas covered in the attempt to address the concerns of the elders.

Another member of the elders delegation, Barrister Solomon Dalung said the elders told the President they were worried about the performance of some ministries and how they disregarded the North. They said these ministries included Agriculture, Water Resources, Environment, Education and Works, after which the President asked the ministers concerned to respond to the issues. They suggested the establishment of an amnesty commission made up of credible Nigerians that would draft the terms for amnesty.

Dalung said the President responded by saying he was also concerned about the security issues in the North and that he was surprised that his comments on amnesty were politicised.

He said the President expressed shock when he was told that the North benefitted only 34 percent from the employment in the public service and asked the Vice president to verify.

“We said the North got only 18 percent but when the VP cross checked he said it was more than that, it was 34 percent but the President said even that figure was unfair for a region that has 19 states and asked the VP to come out with the accurate statistics so as to address that anomaly,” Dalung said.

Source: Daily Trust