Governors Forum (NGF) has emphasised the need to develop a National Security Framework for the country.

This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a two-day retreat organised for governors by the forum on Saturday.

However, only 12 out of the 19 members of the Governor Rotimi Ameachi - led faction of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) attended the second retreat of the forum which was held at the underground conference of Giginya Hotel in Sokoto, where the forum urged leaders in all spheres of the nation to address the various challenges facing the country.

Although it was not known why the seven governors were absent, it was being speculated that all might not be too well in the Amaechi faction of the NGF.

The governors who were physically present included the chairman of the forum and governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Ameachi; Sokoto State governor, Aliyu Wamakko; deputy chairman of the forum and Zamfara State governor, Abdul’Aziz Yari; Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola; Osun State governor, Ra’uf Aregbesola; Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi and their Adamawa State governor, Murtala Nyako.

Those represented by their deputies included the Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido; Oyo State governor, Abiola Ajimobi; Kwara State governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed; Niger State governor, Babangida Aliyu and Kano State governor, Musa Kwankwaso.

In his keynote address, the chairman of the forum, Governor Chibuike Amaechi urged Nigerian leaders to make conscious efforts to address the myriad challenges facing the country.

``Nigeria is faced with lots of challenges which can only be overcome if her leaders make conscious efforts to do the right thing.

``This retreat is coming at the right time in our national life when we, as leaders, must live up to the expectations of the electorate,’’ he said.

Amaechi said that the retreat would provide a unique opportunity to undertake an in-depth deliberation on the state of the nation and the challenges confronting the states.

He added that it was also an occasion to renew the vision of the NGF, which splintered into factions after its last election on May 24.
Amaechi said that the Forum would utilise the wisdom and experiences of invited experts to broaden its horizon on national issues, in line with its tradition.

The governor expressed the hope that the governors’ resolutions at the retreat would provide lasting solutions to some of the challenges facing the country.

Amaechi underscored the wisdom in organising the retreat, saying that it would enable the governors to collectively reflect on national issues and articulate the way forward for the country.

He, however, condemned the level of sycophancy in the country, saying that the governors were aware that the development was inimical to efforts to ensure good governance and development in states.

He said that a situation where sycophants lauded non-performing leaders was not encouraging, adding that the development was somewhat responsible for the bad service delivery of some leaders.

The governor stressed the need to put in place some indices to evaluate the service delivery of those in government, adding that this would spur development across the country.

Amaechi, who thanked Gov. Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State for hosting the retreat, also commended him for the laudable development projects in the state.

``Peer learning is our major hallmark in the Forum and there is no doubt that we would learn a lot from Sokoto State,’’ he said.

Kukah tasks Amaechi to ensure the unity of Nigerian governors
In his message as a guest speaker at the forum, Bishop Mathew Kukah, bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, called on the forum to ensure its unity, saying it was imperative for the forum to remain united.

``I would be failing in my responsibilities as a priest if I do not say this. Your duties and responsibilities as governors is to give us the confidence that we need. To me, you are 36 governors in this country and you must find a way to making sure that all of you meet in one building.

``No matter what it takes, you have to have that programme otherwise democracy is in danger, the future is in danger and you will all be held accountable,’’ Kukah told Amaechi.

He assured the governors of his prayers and support but urged them to be up to their responsibilities and give Nigerians a reason to love politics and politicians.

Continuing he stated that there are certain indices of measuring the pace of growth of any nation. “There are indices for measuring good governance. For a country that is not working, how come people are being over rewarded? Newspapers never tell us the yards stick they used to decide who the best governor in Nigeria is.

“Political elites have changed the word to dividends of democracy. We don’t know when AGMs are held for dividends to be chaired,” he stated. 

Leadership affects the way Nigerians see democracy - Ribadu 
Also speaking at the retreat, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, former EFCC boss, said that the actions or otherwise of the governors and those in leadership affected the way the common man sees democracy.

The former EFCC boss spoke on the role of States in Deepening Democracy and Federalism in the country.

He said governors had to sit up and take their responsibilities seriously in order to deepen the country`s democracy.

He stressed that corruption should also be avoided by governors if they must make genuine progress.

Ribadu maintained that good governance did not come by magic but through strong willed political leaders whom were selfless, sincere, committed and cosmopolitan.

According to him, “We need an anchor in the ship of state which must have strong character, selflessness, sincerity, and passion. There is no way this democracy can be deepened in an atmosphere of chaos.

“Eleven million children are roaming on our streets without the chance to enroll into school, no country in the world allows that. What does the future hold for such a country, I leave you to ponder,” he said.

Fayemi calls on participants to be reflective
Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State said the retreat of the forum would give them time to reflect on national issues.

Fayemi, who arrived in the state in a chartered aircraft, also said the governors would explore the retreat to peer-review Sokoto State with a view to replicating best practices in their respective states.

``’When we come to a place, we learn one or two things that the government there is doing well and we look at the best practices that we can take to our states.

``This retreat will offer us the opportunity to really reflect collectively on the direction this country is heading’’, the governor said.

Fayemi said that the syndrome of ``godfatherism’’ in Nigerian politics was the bane of the country`s  democracy.

He also said that security, judiciary, INEC, the military and money were the tin gods in Nigerian politics that should be fought by politicians and those in government.

This, he said, would ensure that the people became responsible for putting governors in office. 

Let’s address unemployment  - Nyako 
Adamawa State governor, Murtala Nyako called on his peers and the Federal Government to address the issue of unemployment in the country.

According to him, “ To own a house, you need money to buy or build it, therefore the issue of employment is very important. But Nigerians don’t have job opportunities, we are all losers.

“It is imperative to create job opportunities for Nigerians. Job is security. Without job, people feel unwanted by the society. We also need to inculcate sound value system in the society.”

He lent his voice to the plight of the police, arguing that it was imperative to give it the best. “We must train and give our policemen targets. Other countries are successful in fighting crime because of effective use of intelligence. We need to find out how they are doing it, in order to get out of the shit we are now in,” he said.