Govs gate-crash into Northern elders meeting

A clash was averted when a representative of the National Security Adviser and four northern governors gate-crashed into a meeting of the Northern Elders Forum on Wednesday in Kaduna.

National Security Adviser’s representative retired General Sarki Yaki Bello, Governors Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger represented by his deputy Ahmed Musa Ibeto, and Kaduna State Governor Muhktar Ramalan Yero went to the meeting venue, allegedly uninvited.

The elders forum called the region’s traditional rulers for a joint meeting to discuss the insecurity, unemployment and poverty in the region.

A letter dated December 2, 2013, which was made available to Daily Trust, was written by the Chairman of the Elders’ Forum, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Sule, requesting the approval of the Sultan to hold a joint meeting of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) and the Council of Northern Traditional Rulers.

In an interview with newsmen, the spokesperson and deputy leader of the forum Dr. Paul Unongo said the governors were uninvited guests, “who the Sultan politely walked out of the meeting on the request of the elders”.

He said, “We organized the meeting based on the letter we wrote to the Sultan, but on arrival, we saw people we had not invited. We saw government delegation, governors, and strangely enough, they are governors from mainly one political party, and we have been very careful in public not to ally our organization with any political party.

We also saw the National Security Adviser (representative), so we sought clarification whether this was our meeting which we sought to have with our royal fathers. We discovered many names that were listed to speak, including the NSA.

“We also saw another list indicating that our own leader, Maitama Sule was to give a paper, but honestly, it was a surprise to us. We then made our observation known to the Sultan and he sorted it out.

“He said since three or four executive governors were already at the meeting, and since he had already invited all the traditional rulers and the government of Kaduna State had assumed the responsibility of hosting, we should allow them to address the traditional rulers in our presence.

“When they finished addressing them, the Sultan decided that we empty the hall of those people that we did not invite”.