In
continuation of efforts towards the withdrawal of quit notice against Ibos
living in northern parts of Nigeria, a group of Northern Governors represented
by Governor of
Borno State and Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Kashim
Shettima on Wednesday met with a group of Northern elders and key leaders of
the coalition of Arewa groups for a closed door meeting that lasted four hours
which focused on having the coalition announced the withdrawal of their quit
notice which elapses on October 1st, 2017.
"The
meeting, which is the third since July was at the instance of some Northern
Governors who mandated Shettima to engage the coalition with a view to
preventing possible outbreak of violence in the event hoodlums take advantage
of quit notice to perpetuate violence by the time the ultimatum expires on
October 1st" Shettima's spokesman, Isa Gusau said.
The meeting
which began at about 2:30pm lasted till 6:30pm at the Borno Governor’s lodge
in Asokoro, Abuja behind closed doors.
The meeting
was attended by members of the Northern elders forum: Professor Ango Abdullahi,
Alhaji Sani Zango Daura, Air Marshall Al-Amin Daggash, AVM Mukhtar Mohammed,
Professor Yima Sen and Dr Hakeem Baba Ahmed who represented the Sir Ahmadu
Bello Memorial Foundation. Key leaders of the coalition of Arewa groups, Yerima
Shettima, Ashir Sherrif, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, Aminu Adam, Balarabe Rufai and
leaders of other groups in the coalition all attended.
"The
meeting ended on positive note while the Arewa coalition is expected to meet
members of the AbdulSalami Abubakar led National Peace Committee who invited
them for a meeting" Gusau added.
The
Governor had held three separate meetings with leaders of the Arewa coalition
in Kaduna, Abuja and Maiduguri before holding Wednesday's meeting that included
elders.
The meetings
were part of consultations aimed at ensuring the stability of the north in the
wake of quit notice against Ibos living in north issued in Kaduna in June. The
northern groups said their action was in response to insults against the north
by agitators for the Republic of Biafra who want to pull out of Nigeria led by
Nnamdi Kanu, leader of an agitation group, Independent People of Biafra.
At
Wednesday's meeting with Governor Shettima, Northern elders also spoke
extensively on serious problems bedeviling the northern Nigeria especially
those concerning Boko Haram insurgency, backwardness in education resulting for
high level of out of school children roaming as Almajiri. The leaders offered
far reaching suggestions which they requested Governor Shettima to convey to
his colleagues in the northern Governors Forum.
The Arewa
coalition is expected to make its decision public at a date to be determined by
members of the coalition.
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