Many Nigerian governors absent at forum

Nigeria Governors` Forum (NGF) on Wednesday in Abuja ended without the usual media briefing by its Chairman, Gov. Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state.

The meeting which was to discuss the forum’s stance on the on-going constitution amendment was attended by nine governors and eight Deputies.

Governors of Rivers, Ebonyi, Akwa-Ibom, Ekiti, Ondo, Sokoto, Kaduna, Kano and Kogi states attended.

Deputy Governors of Niger, Adamawa, Yobe, Jigawa, Cross River, Bayelsa, Delta and Nasarawa states also attended the meeting. There are 36 governors in Nigeria.

At its last meeting of 8 August, the governors deferred debate on the on-going constitutional amendment until the end of the Ramadan.

Amaechi, the forum’s chairman, said the forum would continue the debate when the Muslim faithful had returned from the Lesser Hajj.

This however meant that the media was not briefed on the outcome of the closed-door meeting which ended without any communiqué.

Northern state governors, ahead of the review of the 1999 Constitution by the National Assembly, had opposed the creation of state police.

They also opposed the inclusion of the country’s six geo-political zones in the constitution.

They also demanded the abrogation of the offshore/onshore dichotomy and the derivation principle.

The principle allows oil-producing states to retain 13 per cent of the total revenue derived from exploration of mineral resources.

The NGF was to set the tone of debate on these issues by members of the National Assembly during the constitutional amendment process.

The Northern Nigeria Governors’ Forum had hinted that it would communicate its position on these issues to lawmakers from the north to serve as a guide during the review process.

The 19 northern state governors’ position came on the heels of a call by the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum who said that the 36 governors agreed that state police was long overdue.