Northern States Governors Forum have alleged that some anti-democracy forces wanted to hijack the recent #EndSARS protests in some parts of the country to overthrow President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Forum, which met with presidency and security officials in Kaduna yesterday, commended President Buhari and his cabinet for the quick intervention in meeting the demands of the protesters.
Chairman of the Forum and Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, who read out the communiqué issued at the end of the parley, said that Buhari’s deft move checkmated forces that wanted to hide under the #EndSARS protests to destabilise the country.
The Governors therefore, resolved to give Buhari the maximum support as he addresses the challenges of youth unemployment, banditry and Boko Haram insurgency.
The meeting was attended by the Senate president, deputy speaker and other members of the National Assembly, the chief of staff to the president, ministers of Federal Capital Territory, Information and Culture, the Inspector General of Police, principal officers of the National Assembly and chairmen of the Northern States Traditional Rulers Council, led by the Sultan of Sokoto.
The communiqué said: “The meeting rejects and condemns the subversive actions of the #EndSARS protest. The superlative agitations and other change-regime actions outside the ballot box soon took advantage of the peaceful protest to push for their separative agenda. The meeting endorses the indivisibility, indissolubility and oneness of the nation.
“It commends the roles of his eminence, royal highnesses and other royal fathers in ensuring the #EndSARS protests did not escalate significantly in the North by adopting sentimental issues such as ethnicity and religion. The Forum resolved to continuously engage with their royal highnesses in addressing this challenge.
“Forum appreciates Mr. President and his cabinet for the quick intervention in meeting the demands of the #EndSARS protesters and resolved to give him the maximum support as he rolls out measures to address the lingering challenges of youth unemployment, banditry and Boko Haram insurgency in the country.
“Meeting noted and appreciated the far-reaching efforts of Northern States Governors’ Forum in taking proactive measures to address the #EndSARS protests in the country and the North in particular. Equally, Forum notes with satisfaction the actions taken by the governors to revive the economic fortunes of the region particularly during the post-COVID-19 period.”
The Governors appreciated the roles of traditional rulers in containing the menace of #EndSARS protests in the North and collectively agreed that traditional rulers be given formal roles in the governance architecture of the country.
Also, “the meeting took note of the devastating effect of the uncontrolled social media in spreading fake news and calls for major control mechanism and censorship of the social media practice in Nigeria.
“Meeting raises attention on the need to keep strict watch on the Federal Capital Territory to guard against unwarranted and destructive protests to safeguard critical assets of the nation.”
