The three-day Northern Senators retreat held in Sokoto rounded up yesterday with a resolution calling on federal government not to tinker with existing constitution that may extend the tenure of elected officials, maintaining that elected officials “who would have completed their stipulated two (2) four-year terms shall not be eligible to contest election for similar offices.”
The retreat which had in attendance former president, Shehu Shagari, and former heads of state, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, chairman of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Chief Sunday Awoniyi, also call on all none Northerners wishing to contest the presidency in 2007 to respect the principle of rotation and wait for their turn, pointing out that the principle of power rotation should equally be respected at the states and local governments levels.
The ten point communiqué read by the chairman of Northern Senators Forum (NSF), Senator Idris Ibrahim Kuta, said the forum “stands by the principle of rotation of presidency between the North and South .Consequently, the forum appealed to all parts of the country to abide by the principle and called on those outside the North expressing interest in the presidency in 2007, to wait for their turn.”
On the economic situation in the North, the forum called on the federal government to accelerate oil exploration in the North and in particular, expand the oil industry activities to the North by extending gas pipelines to the region, “in the expansion of power supply and restructuring of the power sector, opportunities for power generation should be increased in the north through the development of additional hydr-oelectric power generating plants”.
The forum deplored wanton communal violence and increasing social dislocation among the people of the North “caused by the socalled settler-indigene phenomenon,” adding that it will support appropriate legisl-ation to address the issue so as to revive the region’s culture of peace.
“The economy of the North and indeed that of the whole country can radically be transformed by the accel-erated development of the solid minerals sector. To that end, the solid minerals mini-stry must accelerate its programme of development,” the communiqué said.
The retreat with the theme “Assailing the Current Challenges Facing the North” and which had in attendance former civilian governors of northern states, also emph-asised the need for unity of purpose in the North and resolved to work towards the goals of the socio economic development of the North, justice and political stability of the nation.
Earlier, the senators who called on Governor Attahiru Bafarawa were urged to exa-mine the problem of the north and chart the way forward.
Attahiru Bafarawa who welcomed the legislators for the two-day retreat in Sok-oto, thanked them for the exercise.
He told the visiting sena-tors that the North has no problem per se, noting that the leaders and the elected representatives of the people are the major problems of the North.
His words: The North has no problems. We are the problems of the North beca-use we are given a free ticket to represent the Northern people.”
The governor explained further that whatever they do in the interest of the people, God, he said will judge them, adding that they can deceive the electorate but cannot deceive God.
Alhaji Bafarawa also told the Senators that they cannot change their region or name to any other thing than the North whether they like it or not.
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