By Lateef Ibrahim
Governors of the 36 States of the federation have called on the Department for States of Services (DSS) to without delay arrest and prosecute the elements behind the plot to install an interim government in the country, come May 29.
The Governors made the call in a communique issued at the end of their 4th meeting in Abuja.
They condemned, in the strongest terms, any unconstitutional means of regime change and pledged their commitment to continue to defend Nigeria’s democracy as elected leaders.
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), in a communique signed by its Chairman and Governors of Sokoto State, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, maintained that issuing statements without arrests is akin to heating up the polity and causing unwarranted tension in the country.
On the issue of the refund of backlog of Stamp Duties due to State Governments, the NGF restated its commitment to engaging with all stakeholders and exploring all legal channels available to it in ensuring that monies which ought to have since been used for development projects are duly refunded to the States.
According to the communique, “the Forum deliberated extensively on the alleged plot by some unscrupulous elements to install an interim government, as contained in the recent statement issued by the Department for State Services (DSS).
“Governors condemned, in the strongest terms, any unconstitutional means of regime change and pledged their commitment to continue to defend Nigeria’s democracy as elected leaders.
“In addition, the Forum believes that issuing statements without arrests is akin to heating up the polity and causing unwarranted tension in the country.
“It called on the DSS to do its job by immediately arresting and prosecuting all those involved in the plot as a matter of urgency”, the forum said.
Continuing, the NGF, in its communique, said, “Regarding the refund of backlog of Stamp Duties due to State Governments, the Forum restated its commitment to engaging with all stakeholders and exploring all legal channels available to it in ensuring that monies which ought to have since been used for development projects are duly refunded to the States”.
The Forum revealed that it is set to conduct its flagship induction programme for its newly elected and re- elected governors.
According to the NGF’s communique, “This event, which will bring together newly elected, re-elected, past governors, national and international leaders, captains of industries and development partners, is scheduled to hold from 14th -17th May 2023, is designed to build the capacity of Governors to establish, organize, manage, and set agenda/priorities using best practices whilst leveraging the tools of their trade – people, processes, programmes and public opinion – for greater and more effective governance.
“The second part of the Induction programme will hold from 17th -19th May, 2023 and will focus on the Governors’ Spouses Summit designed to strategize on how the activities of the Governors’ spouses can best complement the roles of the Governors in promoting good governance at the sub-national level and help the spouses better understand the processes of transitioning to their new roles as first ladies”, it said.
On the Implementation of the National Development Plan (2021-2025), the Forum nominated six (6) Governors to represent the six geopolitical zones of the country in the National Steering Committee: North Central – Governor of Kwara State, North East – Governor of Bauchi State, North West – Governor of Zamfara State, South South – Governor of Edo State, South East – Governor of Anambra State and South West – Governor of Ekiti State.
According to the NGF’s communique, “Finally, the Forum received a briefing on the cancellation of the proposed privatization of Five (5) National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs) by National Council on Privatization (NCP) and the withdrawal of the matter at the Federal High Court between the 36 States of the Federation Vs the Federal Government of Nigeria which was instituted to halt the process to enable stakeholders address the concerns by States and Local Governments who collectively own a joint stake of 53% in the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC).
“Members applauded this move by the NCP which appears to have taken into consideration the recommendation of the States to halt the process due to ill-timing amongst other reasons”, the communique stressed.
