Next NGF Chair Should Come From South, Says Dickson

The Governor of Bayelsa State, who is also the Chairman of the South-South Governors Forum, Seriake Dickson, has called on the 36 Governors of the Federation to adhere to the principle of rotation in the election of a new leader for the Nigerian Governors Forum.

The Governor said in a statement by his Special Adviser, Media Relations, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, in Abuja on Wednesday, that the decision on who should be the next Chairman òf the Forum should be guided by the time-tested principle of rotation between the North and South.

The Governor said that the next Chairman òf the NGF should come from the South with the end of the tenure of Governor Abdulazeez Yari òf Zamfara State.

The Governor added that the governors elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party would not contest the position in consonance with the precedence that the NGF Chairman should be a ranking governor from the ruling political party.

He stressed that the PDP Governors would not make any move to endanger the time honoured principle guiding the emergence of the Chairman of the NGF.

However, the Governor noted that the next NGF Chairman should emerge preferably through consensus among the members of the NGF.

Members of the NGF are meeting in Abuja later tonight to elect a new chairman.

Both the Governors of Ekiti and Kaduna States, Kayode Fayemi and Nasir El-Rufai are said to be interested in the position.

Dickson said, “I am calling on the governors who would assemble today to take a decision on the Chairmanship òf the Governor’s Forum to be guided by the timetested principle of rotation between the North and the South.

“Now that the Alhaji Abdulazeez Yari, Governor òf Zamfara State would be ending his tenure, we expect that the next chairman should come from the South.

“The precedence is that the ruling party produces the Chairman. The PDP Governors have no desire to be disruptive and expect thatAbdulfatai Yahaya-Seriki, a ranking Governor from the APC, the party with the majority would be the next chairman.

He congratulated his Zamfara counterpart on the successful completion of his tenure during which he said the governor collaborated with the Federal Government to address “a myriad of issues such as the refund of the Paris club money, and other issues affecting state finances.”

Dickson wished him a successful tenure in the National Assembly where he has been elected senator.