Governors of the 19 northern states, under the aegis of the Northern Nigeria Governors’ Forum, on Monday, elected the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shetima, as their new chairman.
Shettima replaces the outgoing Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, whose tenure ends this month.
Kano State Governor-elect, Abdullahi Ganduje, also emerged as the vice chairman of the forum.
This decision was reached at the end of a meeting of the northern states governors, held at the Niger State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja.
The forum also agreed to intervene in the lingering crisis in the Nigerian Governors’ Forum by uniting the Governor Rotimi Amaechi-led NGF and the one led by Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang.
Speaking after the closed-door meeting, Aliyu said the northern governors were determined to mediate in order to unite governors across party lines for the development of the nation.
Aliyu said, “The goal is to mediate and unite the Nigeria Governors Forum, that has been fragmented in the past few years.”
He explained that the northern governors resolved, among other things, to address the Boko Haram insurgency in the North, tackle the problems of poverty, marginalisation and unemployment.
Aliyu added that the forum was also working with the office of Vice President, Namadi Sambo, to revive the New Nigeria Company, located in Kaduna.
In his acceptance speech, Shettima assured his colleagues that under his leadership, governors would unite in the war against Boko Haram menace.
He also promised to work together with his colleagues, irrespective of religious, ethnic or political affiliation, to confront the challenges confronting the North.
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