Noah Ebije; Abdullahi Hassan, Kaduna.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) and 16 other leading groups in the region yesterday passed a vote of no confidence on all political office holders from the region, including President Muhammadu Buhari.
The group said the President and other politicians from the region had failed the North in the area of security and economy.
They made declaration at the end of a Summit of Northern Groups held at the Arewa House, Kaduna.
“No Northern politician should expect to be voted for in the next general election unless they demonstrate a willingness to champion a massive assault on poverty and underdevelopment in the North. In this regard, most political office holders from the North are hereby served notice that they have failed the test to lead the region towards economic recovery and growth,” they said.
The group that signed the communique included the convener of the summit, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, who is the Chairman, ACF Political Committee as well as Northern Elders Forum; Dr. Yima Se of Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Amb. Ibrahim Mai Sule of ACF; Engr. Bello Suleiman of CODE Group; Mataimaki Tom Maiyashi of Arewa Research Development Project (ARDP); Zannah Hassan Boguma of Borno Elders Forum; Nafiu Baba-Ahmed of Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria; and Dr. Ibrahim Yakubu Lame of the Northern Union.
Others were Alhaji Yerima Shettima of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF); Pastor Aminchi Habu of United Christian Leaders Eagle Eye Forum (UCLEEF); Balarabe Rufai of Coalition of Northern Groups; Isa Tijjani Labour of Veterans Association; Rev. Bitrus Dangiwa of CAN Northern Chapter; and Umar Ahmed Zaria Jama’atu Nasiril Islam (JNI); Alh. Buba Adamah of Arewa People Unity Association; Hassan El-Adamu of Arewa Initiative for Good Governance; and Abdulazeez Suleiman of Northern Emancipation Network.
In the communiqué, which was read by the Chief of Staff to the Senate President. Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, they advised northerners to remain at alert over alleged plans to weaken the region through the manipulation of the fears and vulnerability of the peoples’ ethno religious differences.
“There must be vigilant scrutiny of opportunities for manipulation by outsiders of our present challenges. We must stand up and unite against those who kill villagers in Kogi, Zamfara, Benue, Adamawa, Borno, Kaduna and in every village or town. No Northern blood is more precious than others, and we can only heal if we adopt common positions to finding solutions to our problems,” they said.
Giving reasons for passing a vote of no confidence on the political leaders, the groups noted that since 2015, northerners have occupied positions with the potential to make decisive differences in the economy, security and political fortunes of the region, but stressed that they failed in all fronts hence the call on them to brace up or be voted out in 2019.
“The hopes that leaders who have exercised power since 2015 will reverse the abuse and neglect of the region in the previous decade have been betrayed. Weak governance, gross insensitivity and unacceptable levels of incompetence have been compounded by battles of attrition in which northerners have sapped each others’ strength.