Gov. Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers in Abuja on Tuesday said that he would not step down as duly elected Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) “for any reason’’.
Amaechi, who made this known when he addressed staff of the NGF secretariat on their job security, said his re-election was a mandate that was freely given.
He also said that all he needed to make it through was the support of God, Nigerians, the governors and the President.
“I am loyal to the president and fearlessly loyal to God,’’ he said, pointing out that his faction of the NGF would not be confrontational even in the face of challenges.
The governor, however, said that the NGF would emerge stronger from its leadership crisis.
Amaechi urged the staff to remain focused in ensuring development across states of the federation and leave the NGF politics to the politicians.
“We should as a secretariat focus on those issues and forget about the internal dynamics of NGF either way, rest assured of your salaries.
“ I believe that my brothers and colleagues should see reasons why we should not be distracting the country and get the country united in our focus on development.
He insisted that the NGF under his leadership, would continue with its peer review initiative, assuring that Rivers, Oyo, Delta, Niger and Kano states, were ready to receive the team.
“`Get the peer review committee to please visit these states so that we do not get distracted.
“Let’s leave the politics of NGF to the politicians while you focus on issues of development so that we will be able to ensure that Nigerians do not lose out on these issues,’’ Amaechi said.
He said that there could not be two NGF secretariats, adding that the governors should resolve their differences and come together to work in unity.
“It is important that we do not allow the image of the governors to be destroyed just because there is an argument of who is chairman or not.
“It is important we make peace and come together,’’ he said.
He thanked the NGF Secretariat staff and Nigerians generally for recognising that the governors had a role to play in the country`s development.
He said that the May 24 election in which he was re-elected had come and gone, adding that it was a test of the nation`s democracy.
Amaechi, however, urged his colleagues to promote democracy and stand by its tenets always.
“All we can do as the democrats elected by the people is to uphold democracy and stand by democracy.
“I honestly do not know why there has to be disagreement. I think that whatever the issues are, will be resolved.
“I think, we should focus more on those issues that unite us, including poverty, fight against polio and roll back malaria.
“These are things that are killing the poor and we are busy here in Abuja and different state headquarters talking about the NGF election when, indeed, Nigerians are dying of hunger.’’
He noted that there were so many resources that the forum could apply in managing its present leadership crisis.
According to him, nothing pays like democracy. The governors have made their choice during the May 24 election and should be able to stand by their choice.
He said that the governors should ensure that what was happening now did not affect the stand of Nigerians in 2015 elections.
Amaechi said that it was important that the governors showed the world that Nigeria was mature to manage its own democracy and handle its own election.
In his remarks, Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, who accompanied Amaechi to the secretariat, described the leadership crisis in the NGF as “unfortunate’’.
He assured that measures had already been taken to ensure that the forum stood on “ the side of truth’’.
He said that it was what was made of governance that made it an institution, adding that “governors come and go but the forum will remain’’.
“We are talking across the divide already and we will be able to come back as one body at the end of the day,’’ Fayemi said.
