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The Mohammedan emirate of the North to form united front for 2015 polls

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The North has resolved to form a united front with the intention to vote en bloc in next year’s general elections, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) said yesterday.
The decision was taken after a two-day meeting of the ACF and the North’s stakeholders in Kaduna. Many non-governmental organisations were represented.

A communique of the meeting signed by ACF Secretary General Col. John Ubah (rtd) and  Code Group Secretary  Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said the need for improved unity in the North to mitigate the potential damage of partisan politics and attempts to use religion and ethnicity to weaken the region was imperative.
The communiqué said:  “The North has a majority in population and should use this advantage to negotiate and support candidates and programmes that will address the current challenges of the region and its need for massive rehabilitation and economic reconstruction in the future.
“We have also resolved to mobilise Northern leaders to engage leaders from other parts and sections of the country in discussions and activities aimed at finding solutions to common problems and long-term strategies for improving the nation’s security, unity and prosperity.”
It added that the North recognisesd the necessity of collaborating with all other Nigerians, including those living outside, on the basis of mutual respect and knowledge that Nigeria could only overcome its current challenges if all stakeholders are genuinely involved in shaping its future.
The communique added that the north will reject any excuse to prevent any citizen from participating in the 2015 general elections. “Similarly, any attempt to secure extension of tenure under the cover of security will be resisted by people of the North.
“Like all Nigerians, Northerners expect the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan to provide a secure and safe environment for the 2015 elections and avoid any attempt to jeopardise the democratic process in Nigeria.
“We reject the recent allocation of additional polling units by INEC which deliberately conferred undeserved advantages on states in the south. The creation of additional polling units should be revisited, using standard criteria that INEC is aware of.
“Attempts to blackmail and stampede INEC into abandoning its hallowed responsibilities to do justice to all Nigerians, or sacrifice the rights of Northern voters are hereby condemned. The North expects INEC to re-allocate the polling units in strict compliance with its standard guidelines without fear or favour.”
The meeting also reiterated that efforts must be made to ensure that during the 2015 elections, all votes must count and the will of the people must not be hijacked or subverted under any guise.
On the former Presidents, the meeting  “resolved to invite the attention of former Heads of State and President –  General Yakubu Gowon, President Shehu Shagari, General Muhammadu Buhari, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and General Abdulsalami Abubakar, to recognise that they are severely under-utilised assets and northerners expect them to improve their input into influencing events around the region’s security and economic wellbeing.
The communique urged Senate President David Mark, House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and all legislators from the North to note that Northerners expect them to exercise greater commitment towards ensuring that President Goodluck Jonathan’s government is made more accountable to Northerners and the citizens of Nigeria in the manner it handles national security and the management of resources of the nation.
To the Northern Governors, the stakeholders meeting said citizens were disappointed over their seeming neglect of the security and welfare of the people of the North, adding that “in the next few weeks, activities of joint committees will approach governors and involve them in mobilising citizens towards supporting all measures to improve security in the North, and will inform Northerners of responses of all our elected leaders.”
The meeting was attended by the leadership and prominent members of organsations, such as: Arewa Consultative Forum, Northern Elders Forum, Code Group, Northern Re-awakening Forum, Arewa Research and Development Project. Others are the Northern Union, Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, Arewa Media Forum, North East Unity and Development Forum, Northern Youth Coalition and Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria.

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