Barely a week after some leaders from the South South and North Central Nigeria visited President Goodluck Jonathan, endorsing him for 2015 presidency, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) on Thursday distanced itself from the action and accused the President of adopting a divide-and-rule tactics against the North in order to realise his ambition.
Apparently referring to General Lawrence Onoja (rtd) and Senator John Pam who are key members of the forum that were part of the delegation that visited President Jonathan, the ACF at its annual general meeting in Kaduna stated categorically that the presidency must return to the North in 2015. They, therefore, urged President Jonathan to shelve his ambition.
The forum considered the endorsement of President Jonathan as too early and capable of disrupting governance and heating up the polity, especially because the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to give permission for political campaigns.
Apart from demanding that the North should produce the next president in 2015, the ACF also wants INEC to conduct all elections in one day.
This method, it noted, has succeeded in lesser economies like Kenya and if adopted for the next election in Nigeria, will go a long way to reduce electoral malpractice.
Determined to return power to the North, the forum is also making frantic efforts to reconcile the Northern States Governors’ Forum.
The 19 northern states are currently engaged in bitter battles over the fallout of the election of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) held in Abuja on May 24.
A Divided House
The Bauchi State governor, Isa Yuguda, dragged the division into the open when he was quoted in the media as saying that he had withdrawn his membership of the northern governors’ group. He cited the ‘treachery’ in the NGF meeting, and the betrayal of the decision reached at the NSGF and the Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum (PDPGF) meeting of May 24 by some members.
Mr. Yuguda insisted that since some governors later went ahead to betray a collective decision to name Plateau State governor, Jonah Jang as consensus NGF Chairman, he could no longer stomach the treachery and sit at the same meeting with those who took him and Katsina State governor, Ibrahim Shema, for a ride.
Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State had also pulled out of the NSGF citing the controversy at the last election of the NGF as the reason for his action.
These battles if not resolved, according to the ACF Chairman, Aliko Mohammed, could thwart the realisation of a president of northern extraction in 2015.
Although two candidates from the North — Ibrahim Shekarau of the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), and General Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) — lost to President Jonathan in 2011, no particular candidate has been endorsed by the ACF ahead of 2015.
However, it is believed by many that with the seeming divisions among the northern politicians and leaders, it may be difficult to realise such ambition.