The committee set up by the Northern Governors Forum and the Northern Traditional Rulers Council to aggregate the views of Northerners on the restructuring debate will hold public hearings in the 19 states of the region, the committee’s chairman and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, has said.
Speaking after the inaugural meeting of the committee in Kaduna, Mr. Tambuwal said members have agreed to hold extensive consultations with stakeholders and leaders of thought in member states with a view to coming up with acceptable position that will reflect the view of the entire North.
“We have reaffirmed our commitment to ensuring Nigeria remains a strong, united country. We have also decided to present the case of the North as a single entity desirous of a prosperous country.
“Today’s meeting agreed on the need to hold town hall meetings in all the 19 states to hear the views of our people on the restructuring debate currently going on in the country.
“We are not limiting the area of discussion because it is better to put all questions on the table and have it discussed. We will discuss on federalism, fiscal federalism, state police, revenue structure and any other issue of interest.
“We have also decided to analyse previous documents and position papers that proffered viable options to Northern development. A technical committee will study these documents, talk to the authors and present the report to us at our next meeting on October 24 here in Kaduna.
“We will key into the opportunity provided by the ongoing amendment of the 1999 constitution by the National assembly to see how our position can be reflected in the larger scheme of things,” he added.
Also speaking, Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, said all stakeholders will make inputs before the final report is presented.
Those at the meeting include Governor of Nasarawa, Umar Al-Makura; his Kaduna State counterpart, Nasir El-Rufai; and deputy governors of Gombe and Plateau states, Charles Iliya and Soni Tyoden respectively.
Others in attendance were Etsu Nupe, Yahaya Abubakar; Gbong Gwom Jos, Jacob Buba Gyang; Emir of Fika, Muhammadu Abali; and Emir of Gummi, Lawal Gummi.
