Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa

Ahead the election of a new Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), Bayelsa State Governor and Chairman of the South South Governors Forum, Henry Seriake Dickson, has called on the 36 Governors of the Federation to adhere to the principle of rotation.

Governors Kayode Fayemi and Nasir El- Rufai of Ekiti and Kaduna States, respectively, are believed to be the only two contenders for the position

Read also: el-Rufai: Governor in need of guidance

The Governor said, in a statement by his Special Adviser, Media Relations, Mr Fidelis Soriwei, that the decision on who should be the next Chairman of the Forum should be guided by the time tested principle of rotation between the North and South.

The Governor said that the next Chairman of the NGF should come from the South with the end of the tenure of Governor Abdulazeez Yari òf Zamfara State.

The Governor added that the Governors elected under the platform of the PDP would not contest the position in consonance with the precedence that the NGF Chairman should be a ranking Governor from the ruling political party.

He stressed that the PDP Governors would not make any move to endanger the time honoured principle guiding the emergence of the Chairman of the NGF.

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However, the Governor noted that the next NGF Chairman should emerge preferably through consensus among the members of the NGF.

He said, “I am calling on the governors who would assemble today to take a decision on the Chairmanship of the Governor’s Forum to be guided by the time tested principle of rotation between the North and the South.

“Now that the Alhaji Abdulazeez Yari, Governor of Zamfara State would be ending his tenure, we expect that the next chairman should come from the South.

“The precedence is that the ruling party produces the Chairman. The PDP Governors have no desire to be disruptive and expect that a ranking Governor from the APC, the party with the majority would be the next chairman.”

He congratulated his Zamfara counterpart on the successful completion of his tenure,mduring which he collaborated with the Federal Government to address a myriad of issues,  such as the refund of the Paris club funds, and other issues affecting state finances.

The Governor wished him a successful tenure as a newly elected senator in the National Assembly.

“I wish him the very best in the Senate, where he has been elected.