Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State has alleged that there are moves
by persons he did not name to bribe Northerners and divide them ahead of
the 2015 General elections, warning that such moves must be vehemently
rejected.
Aliyu, a member of the disgruntled G7 Governors who was speaking at the
formal commissioning of Liberty Radio, Kaduna also warned that the North
must do all it can o resist any attempt to prevent the zone from
presenting a common front at the planned National Conference.
The Governor said unless the North is united against all odds, the zone
may go extinct.
The governor said, “Today, I will disappoint many of you. Having come from
this part of the world (the North), we honour and respect agreements and
because of that, on September 15, the G7 governors and Mr. President
agreed on a ceasefire; that no more public discussions of the problems
that are at stake and I am not going to talk about them, because I have to
honour the agreement.
“We have to respect the office of Mr. President; we have to respect the
President. But I must say that the struggle of the G7 governors is noble.
We have opened the door; the struggle is now for Nigerians.
“We must go beyond rhetorics and mobilise our people to understand the
predicaments that we are in. We must go out to tell our people who are
poor, who are waiting for any manna from heaven and waiting for people who
have amassed wealth for the campaigns. If we don’t mobilise our people,
they will be bought over. So, we must go back to our villages and hamlets
to ensure that people appreciate and understand the role they have to
play.
“If we (the North) don’t change our condition, we will become extinct.
There is already an attempt to make sure that the north does not present a
united cause and the unfortunate thing is that it is not outsiders that
are being used to do that, it is the people within.
“When I received a delegation to withdraw what we are doing and that there
is no North, then I said if there is no North, then there is no Niger
State. If there is no Niger state, then there is no Minna and if there is
no Minna, then there is no Babangida Aliyu.”
The governor called for the unity of the region, adding that if the North
is not united, it will run into a bigger problem, stressing, “We need
peace and unity in Nigeria especially in the northern states; we need
honest, committed and dedicated leaders in Nigeria, especially in the
northern states. Even though we had one Accidental Public servant who did
very well, we don’t want accidental leaders. We need leaders who have been
prepared and ready for the mantle of leadership.
“The Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation has been encouraged to set up a
committee on behalf of Northern Governors to look and collate all issues
and arguments that may come up for discussion at the National Conference.
I believe each state will set up similar committees so that we can adopt
some positions that may guide our delegates.”
Meanwhile, the governor also said an agreement has been reached between
President Goodluck Jonathan and the G7 governors over the crisis rocking
the ruling PDP.
Aliyu stated that central issue in the agreement is for both parties to
cease from making public statements on the PDP crisis.