A new chairman for the Nigeria
Governors’ Forum will be elected on Friday (today) by the 36 state chief
executives in the country.
This is coming as the governors of 19
northern states were unable to take a decision on who they should support among
those jostling for the position.
The inability of the governors to
reach a compromise was said to have been responsible for the failure of the
northern governors, under the aegis of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, to
meet in Abuja on Thursday.
It was learnt that the governors
would now meet on Friday before the election to see if they would be able to
find some common ground.
While some were said to be rooting
for the incumbent, who is also the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi
Amaechi, some others were said to be supporting the Governor of Katsina State,
Alhaji Ibrahim Shema, or the latest entrant to the race, Governor Isa Yuguda of
Bauchi State.
It was however learnt that the
governors from the zone who do not belong to the Peoples Democratic Party were
said to have made their position known that they would support Amaechi for the
job.
A northern governor, who spoke on
condition of anonymity said, “We are at a crossroads. This is a trying period
for us in the region.
“Some of our colleagues are saying we
should not allow anyone to dictate to us while the others are saying we should
support one of our own for the job.
“Those in the opposition parties are
saying that the Forum does not belong to the Peoples Democratic Party alone.
“Even in the PDP, we could not agree
on who to support. That was why we did not meet, but we hope to meet on
Friday.”
The governor said a majority of his
colleagues from the region believed that both Shema and Yuguda were being
foisted on the Forum by external forces.
In the meantime, investigations by
our correspondent in Abuja on Thursday indicated that there might be more
chairmanship aspirants than expected.
Sources at the secretariat of the
Forum said there might be more aspirants for the position of the chairman.
A source said that some governors had
called to say that they were on their way to file their nomination papers for
the office.
The source said, “The race for the
chairmanship of the Forum is interesting, because this is the first time the
office is attracting so much attention.
“Already, both Amaechi and Shema have
filed their papers, and some have called to say that they are on their way. We
are waiting for them.
“Before now, there was no much
publicity and acrimony on who would lead the Forum. But now that has changed.”
The source, who declined to name
those “on their way” to file nomination forms, however said there would be no
rancour after the election.
Tags
Politics