By Salim Yunusa
Nigeria’s next president should be from the southern part of the country, governors of the southern states have said.
A communique issued at the end of the meeting, which held in Lagos, Monday, reaffirmed the Forum’s commitment to the unity of the country.
“The Forum reiterates its commitment to the politics of equity, fairness, and unanimously agreed that the presidency of Nigeria be rotated between southern and northern Nigeria and resolved that the next president of Nigeria should emerge from the south,” Rotimi Akeredolu, Ondo state governor, said on behalf of the Southern Governors Forum (SGF).
The governors also re-emphasised the need for a state police.
On the recently passed Petroleum Industry Bill, the governors rejected the proposed 3 per cent share of the oil revenue to the host community and supported 5 per cent. They also rejected the proposed 30 per cent share of profit for the exploration of oil and gas in the basins.
Those present at the meeting included the host, Babajide Sawo-Olu, Nyesom Wike of Rivers, Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, and Philip Shaibu, deputy governor of Edo, who represented Governor Godwin Obaseki.
Others were Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom, Diri Duoye of Bayelsa, Willie Obiano of Anambra, Ben Ayade of Cross Rivers, Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta, David Umahi of Ebonyi, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, Hope Uzodimma of Imo, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, and Seyi Makinde of Oyo.
The meeting held two months after the governors met in Asaba, Delta State, where they declared a ban on open grazing in their states, in a bid to provide a solution to the incessant herdsmen attacks.
