13 govs threaten to pull out of NGF •As crisis tears forum apart

The division among the ranks of Nigerian governors under the aegis of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) appeared to have widened at the weekend, as no fewer than 13 governors have alleged that the last meeting of the forum was staged to scheme them out.
Sources close to the forum told the Sunday Tribune in Abuja that some of the governors were aggrieved over the manner in which the last meeting, which held on Wednesday, February 19, was called.
A governor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the invitation was selectively sent out to members and that some of the members, especially those that had opposed certain positions of the leadership, were not invited.
It was learnt that 13 of the governors, who share the same position, had already tabled their “minimal demand” before the leadership of the NGF with a threat that they could be forced to pull out of the forum if its leadership continued in its refusal to adopt democratic tenets.
The governor told the Sunday Tribune: “We were selectively invited to the last NGF meeting. And when we made enquiries at the  secretariat, they claimed they sent out invitations to all members.
“But when some of us, who were not invited, got wind of the meeting, we dashed in to attend.”
The governor,  from one of the southern states, further confirmed that themeeting was shrouded in secrecy, as the  agenda was not even confirmed to those that got the invitation. None of the invitees, he stated, knew of the plan for election.
“You will be shocked to discover that even those that got invitations, did not know about any election, as the issue of  election was not on the agenda. But the issue suddenly found its way into the agenda,” the governor said.
It was learnt that two issues caused the row at the meeting. One  had to do with the scorecard of the executive committee and the second was the need to adopt democratic tenets in the administration of the forum, especially  since it was taken that all the governors were equal.
Another  contentious issue that created furore at the meeting was on the need to ensure that elections  in the forum should not be by affirmation.
Another source said the incumbent leadership was faulted on its management of the Good Governance Tour, which the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, is leading.
The source said that many governors were not impressed with way the tour, which was their idea, was being handled, especially the criticisms that had greeted it.
“Right now, some governors, including Adams Oshiomhole, have condemned the tour as a mere jamboree. It  shows that the forum has not really managed it well ,because the NGF sold  the idea to Labaran Maku to execute. It was meant as a form of peer review mechanism,” the source said, disclosing that the aggrieved governors would be forced to pull out of the forum, if the leadership failed to respect their wish.
Further insights into the last NGF meeting indicate thus: “Two things actually caused crisis at the last  meeting Some of us demanded the  said  score-card, the achievements for the outgoing tenure. We believe that it was the  legitimate demand and a normal thing to do at the end of the tenure of every executive of any Association. Again, we also  demanded  that elections should not be by affirmation. We wanted an open  space for interested candidates. There is the general feeling that election should  conduct this election as it should be through  democratic tenets or even semblance of it.
“These are our minimum demands,” the governor further said.
He added that on the above, no fewer than 13 Governors are  “speaking with one voice” adding that the unfolding crisis has nothing to do the the perceived and  rumoured presidential ambition of any governor.
The governor stated that any of them could aspire to any position but insisted that none of them could be sponsored to cause any crisis within the body.
He asked: “ Do we look like people that could be sponsored? At how much?  In the NGF we are all equal. Nobody is the boss.
  “Look, if the right thing is not done, some of us are ready to pull out of the NGF in the next meeting. That is given already. And everybody knows this,” he stated.
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