Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has accused the Federal Government of promoting the schism in the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), stressing that the inability of the governors to be united is jeopardising the collective interest of Nigerians.
Kwankwaso who spoke on Wednesday at a meeting with the team from the secretariat of NGF on Peer Review Mechanisms led by Director General Ashishana Okauru, criticised the Federal Government for mischievously recognising Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang, who scored 16 votes against Rivers State Governor Chibuike Ameachi, who polled 19 votes during the forum’s election last year.
“Each of the 16 governors that voted for Governor Jang has benefited N2 billion each from our own money, given to them free of charge. All of us from the Ameachi side were given nothing, that is not being fair, that is not even correct and it is illegal”, Kwankwaso fumed.
“We are having difficulties in coming together as one forum because the Federal Government is not respecting democratic tenets”, adding that for rapid progress, governors must work as brothers.
“I need to learn one or two unique practices from other states which I could replicate in Kano State. If you give us a template on why and how a state is succeeding for instance in environment, it will be easier for us to copy.
“I would give such template to my commissioners to study for possible replication. If I have a literature or a template on what a state is doing in a particular sector, I would not need to travel to such state to learn.’’ the governor said.
Okauru said the forum wanted all the 36 governors under one umbrella, pointing out that a lot of ground had already been lost in polio eradication, the lingering insecurity in the country, teeming youth unemployment and Excess Crude Account, lamenting that comradeship among the governors had weakened.
The Director General said the State Peer Review Mechanism (SPRM) meeting with the State Executive Council would pave the way for the stakeholders’ workshop, which began with the implementation of SPRM process in the state.
He hailed the Kano government for the landmark achievements recorded such as creating 24 women and youth development institutions, sponsoring over 2000 indigenes among others.
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