Former Nasarawa State Governor, Senator Abdullahi Adamu has accused the governors from the southern region of the country of betraying the trust of Nigerians and their oath of office.
He also accused them of betraying their oath of allegiance to the President of Nigeria.
Adamu, the current lawmaker representing Nasarawa West in the upper chamber of the National Assembly added that the Southern Governors didn’t follow the right channel in demanding the restructuring of Nigeria as well as their decision to ban open grazing in their region.
The former two-term governor of Nasarawa State made the submission on Thursday in Keffi, the state capital during an interview with journalists where he reacted to the communique issued by the 17 southern governors after their meeting on Tuesday in Asaba, the Delta State capital.
Naija News recalls the Southern Governors Forum at the end of its meeting held in Delta State on Tuesday, 11th May, 2021, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently address the security situation in the country and speak directly to Nigerians.
The Governors while banning open grazing in their region, also noted that the activities of armed herdsmen in the southern part of the country is a serious security challenge that needs urgent attention as innocent citizens are being killed and their properties destroyed.
They also called on the Buhari administration to take bold steps on the issue of restructuring while declaring their support for state police.
These decisions were part of the 12-point communique issued and read by the chairman of the forum, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State at the end of its four hours meeting held in Asaba, the Delta state capital.
However, Adamu in his reaction said the Governors are only playing to the gallery and have said nothing different.
He noted that they should have channeled their thoughts through the legislators representing their states at the National Assembly or spoken through to the President through available channels rather than addressing him in a public communique.
He said, “The recent meeting of the Southern Governors Forum is an act of betrayal of the trust Nigerians reposed in them. Each governor pledged and swore to an oath and they emphasized loyalty to the sovereignty of this country. They also pledged their loyalty to the President of the country. That’s their oath of office.
“While we accept the fact that we have freedom of association and freedom of expression as citizens, they have failed to express their views through the right channel. They are members of the National Council of State. Every governor is a member of the NCS. It also included former presidents who are still living.
“There is no better forum at their level to take a joint decision than such a forum. The fact that they have taken a decision as a divisive move does not speak well of their intention. I feel it is a betrayal of trust. I think they are just playing to the gallery.
“What they are saying is not new. Those things have become like broken records, saying the same thing over and over again. Why can’t they come to the appropriate body which is the National Assembly to project their ideas?
“They have members in the National Assembly who are representing them, if they have an issue that is so important as that which borders on the constitution of the country, they should go there and express their grievances.
“We would sit, debate it and see how best we can come out of it. There can’t be Nigeria if everyone wants to have things happen in his or her own way.
“There is a constitution and there is a framework that we are supposed to operate as governors. To go outside it is a betrayal of their oath of office. Each of them talking there, if you take a look at what is happening in their individual states, they cannot in all honesty and good conscience, challenge Buhari.”
In a related view, Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume has disagreed with the position of Southern Governors who announced a ban on open grazing in the southern region of Nigeria.
Ndume who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Army in his reaction to the position of the governors said the ban on open grazing is not the solution to the challenges of insecurity facing the region and Nigeria as a whole.
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