Ayodele Olalere
The Southern Governors Forum on Monday unanimously agreed that the next president of Nigeria should come from the southern part of the country.
This followed resolutions reached after its meeting in Lagos state held at the Lagos House, Alausa.
The Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Akeredolu who read the communique on behalf of his colleagues, said the decision became important for fairness and equity.
The forum also said all its members state must by August 4 promulgate the anti-open grazing law.
Some of the governors present at the meeting were Ifeayin Okowa of Delta State; Nyensom Wike of Rivers State; Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State; Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State; the host, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State; Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom; Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State; Douye Diri of Bayelsa; Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu.
The deputy governors who represented their governors were Philip Shuaibu of Edo State; Placid Njokwu of Imo State; Oko Chukwu of Abia State and Kelechi Igwe of Ebonyi State.
Below are the resolutions reached at the end of the meeting:
“Rising from the meeting, the Forum agreed on the following:
” Re-affirmed their commitment to the unity of Nigeria on the pillars of equity, fairness, justice, progress and peaceful co-existence between and amongst its people.
“The Forum reiterates its commitment to the politics of equity, fairness and unanimously agrees that the presidency of Nigeria be rotated between Southern and Northern Nigeria and resolved that the next president of Nigeria should emerge from the Southern Region.”
In the area of security, “the Forum reviewed the security situation in the country and commends security operatives for their relentless efforts in restoring security and safety and commiserates with families and loved ones of those who have fallen in the line of duty; re-emphasised the need for State Police; resolved that if for any reason security institutions need to undertake an operation in any State, the Chief Security Officer of the State must be duly informed.
“The forum frowns at selective criminal administration of Justice and resolved that arrests should be made within the ambit of the Law and fundamental human rights, set a timeline of Wednesday, 1st September, 2021 for the promulgation of the anti open grazing law in all member States; and resolved that Funds deducted from the Federation Account for the Nigeria Police Security Trust Fund should be distributed among the States and Federal Government to combat security challenges.”
On the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) Law, “the Forum commends the National Assembly for the progress made in the passage of the PIB Law.
“The Forum rejects the proposed 3% and support the 5% share of the oil revenue to the host community as recommended by the House of Representatives,
“The forum also rejects the proposed 30% share of profit for the exploration of oil and gas in the basins. However, the forum rejects the ownership structure of the proposed Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC). The Forum disagrees that the company be vested in the Federal Ministry of Finance but should be held in trust by Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) since all tiers of Government have stakes in that vehicle.
“In order to consolidate our democracy and strengthen the electoral process, the Southern Governors’ Forum reject the removal of the electronic transmission of the election result from the electoral act; and also rejects the confirmation of exclusive jurisdiction in pre-election matters on the Federal High Court.
“The Forum unanimously chose Lagos State as its permanent secretariat and appreciated the Governor of Lagos State for the wonderful hosting of this meeting while commending him for his good work in the State.
