Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State has said that the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) is not serious enough to address the security challenges facing the North, especially the Boko Haram insurgency and bloodbath in part of the region. “Neither is the forum ready to liberate its people from poverty”, he said.
Nyako, who gave reasons he boycotted the recent meeting of the forum, alleged that those that supposed to be championing the interest of the North in the forum are not serious minded.
Nyako, speaking with reporters at the weekend, also explained that he did not boycott the NSGF because of his memo which was supposed to be discussed at the forum. He said his decision not to be in the last meeting was because of the lack of seriousness of the forum in addressing the most pressing challenge bedevilling the region, even as he clarified that what was on the agenda of the recent meeting of the forum was not the issue of his memo but the issue of grazing reserves.
“The items on the agenda are not my memo but that of grazing reserve. What we are saying here is that the Northern governors’ forum should start becoming very serious. We have suggested so many things such as regional security and the like, but it seems we go there and we’ve been talking about the Sardauna foundation.
“You keep on calling meetings day-in day-out, instead of addressing the fundamental issues of insecurity, poverty, economic backwardness, unemployment, among others, affecting the region. You keep on talking about the Sardauna foundation. Is it the most important issue bothering us as a region,” Nyako asked.