From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) said North has no candidate for the 2023 presidential election either from South or North. It said any political party and its candidate must unveil what programme they have for the region before they could enjoy its support.
This was contained in a communique signed by the Chairman of ACF, Chief Audu Ogbeh after its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Kaduna, yesterday.
The Arewa socio-cultural organisation also expressed worry over the state of banking industry in the region, saying all commercial banks promoted by northerners lost their licences during the banking consolidation policies of former president, Olusegun Obasanjo and the then CBN governor, Chares Soludo, noting that there was need for the northern business class to put their heads together and establish banks.
The communique read in part: “We have always complained of late of the security situation in the north. We are still worried about this. The security conditions in the north are far from satisfactory. We urge the Federal and state government to embark on measures that will improve the situation.
“We had proposed in the past that a meeting with Afenifere/Ndigbo. This meeting has not held because of logistic problems. This will soon be worked out and members informed accordingly.
“There is also the need to renew our partnership with members of the National Assembly from the North. As the country moves towards 2023, we of the ACF need to remind our members and all that we are not a political party.”
It added: “After extensive deliberations on the murder of Hanifa Abubakar the five-year-old girl in Kano, the meeting resolved to commend the Governor of Kano state Dr Abdulahi Ganduje for his prompt action in arresting the situation.
“Not only has government closed down the school, he has withdrawn the certification of the school. We agree with him because we cannot revert to barbarism without experiencing civilisation.
“We encourage other state governors to be as proactive in solving similar problems where they arise.”
The Forum also commended the government of Kaduna and Malam el-Rufai for the efforts made by his government to improve the infrastructural facilities in Kaduna.
“We have noted that Kaduna is wearing a new and beautiful face and we encourage other state governments to copy this example. We also noticed that the Kaduna State has attracted direct foreign investment. We also encourage other states to study and follow the progressive initiatives of Kaduna State government which has led to this progressive economic achievements by the state.
“Still, we encourage the state government to embark on the study of the impact of the modernisation drive so that those adversely effected do not come back to haunt the rest of the society.
“While we are impressed with some governments who have performed well, we are also demoralised by the governors who have performed very poorly. Consequently, we intend to strengthen our partnership with state governments of the north. It is the only when our parternership is strengthened that we can make progress.
In his earlier remarks, Chief Ogbeh, had said the forum would hold meetings with its counterparts in the South East, South West and South-South in order to douse political tension in the country and ensure peaceful coexistence among Nigerians ahead of the forthcoming general elections.
“ACF is not a political party to endorse any candidate. Our plans to have meetings with Afenifere, Ohanaeze, South South People Congress is still on course because there is need to put a stop to abusive words against one region or the other.
“We should desist from endorsing any candidate for the 2023 presidency. If anybody asks you about endorsement, tell such person that we are not political party.
“Even for the 2023, we do not know yet who the candidate is. We are not political party. We do not participate in political activities except where it becomes necessary. May God help us with good candidate. It is only the Almighty God that can solve our problem. Our plans to have meetings with our counterpart; South South People’s Congress, Afenifere, Ohanaeze is still in progress. Once we are done with the plans we will let you know. We need to make peace. Abusive words on social media will not help us. We don’t want chaos in this country. If we turn refugees, where do we go? We will abandon all our property because we can not carry anything along with us other than Ghana-Must-Go bag”.
