This came as Northern governors endorsed a 30-point agenda they will canvass at the conference, just as Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti gave reasons the All Progressives Congress (APC) states, which had dismissed the confab as diversionary and waste of scarce funds, resolved to participate in the exercise.
To protect the interest of the North at the conference, the 19 northern states have articulated about 30 points that would be presented at the conference.
Speaking in an interactive session on the National Conference with major stake holders at Government House Minna, yesterday, Governor, Babangida Aliyu of Niger State said the northern governors took a bold step at their just concluded meeting in Kaduna on the points to be presented at the conference but assured that the points articulated would not in any way tamper with the unity and development of the country.
The adopted points to be presented at the conference as reeled out by Secretary to the Niger State Government, Alhaji Idris Ndako, who is also the secretary of the Northern States Governors Forum, include fiscal federalism, structure of government, state police, labour matters with regards to wages and salaries, with emphasis on whether salaries should be uniform or based on the financial capability of each state, electricity as a major weapon of economic growth, especially on whether states should be allowed to generate power independently.
Governor Fayemi, yesterday said the APC governed states would participate in the forthcoming national conference to take care of the interests all citizens.
The governor, who spoke in Ado-Ekiti, explained that the decision of the governments of the APC-controlled states to participate in the national conference should not be seen as going against earlier position to boycott the conference.
But APC also has states being governed by its members bearing in mind the fact that governors are governors of all.
Without prejudice to the position that our party has taken, we preside over both members as well as non members of our party and it would be wrong for us to decide unilaterally as governors not to allow our citizens to air their views as far as the national conference is concerned.
Should we then suggest that as governors of our individual states, which are federating units within the Nigerian states, arrogate to ourselves the position that because our party is not participating we should not participate?"
Culled from Vangurad
No comments:
Post a Comment