Govs to Jonathan: If N/central is disorganised, you’re disorganised

•Amaechi NGF wanted me out of Aso Rock –President

President Goodluck Jonathan must tackle the security challenge in the North central or risk his presidency, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors from the zone have said.

They gave the warning at the Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday when Senator Amadu Ali led PDP stakeholders from the zone on a solidarity visit to the president.

Speaking on behalf of all the governors from the zone, Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam told Jonathan that all the states in the zone were affected by the activities of herdsmen.

He said they were all worried because most of the strong areas that would bring Jonathan millions of votes in the forthcoming general elections were being decimated, while people were moving out en masse.

Suswam said he and his colleagues were particularly worried that despite the magnitude of the destruction of lives and property in the zone, the security agents were yet to make any arrest.

He said: “Virtually all the states in the zone are affected by the activities of herdsmen in quote. We believe it’s not just the Fulani herdsmen doing what they’re doing in the zone, but some insurgents who are camouflaging as Fulani men because the Fulani men that we all know and have lived with are part and parcel of the North Central. We know that they carry sticks and at times, few of them carry dane guns to catch bush meat for Tiv people.

“But Mr President, what we’ve witnessed lately are well trained people trained to kill and destroy, and the manner of destruction is so massive and unimaginable. The North Central is very worried. The states mostly affected are Plateau, Nasarawa and Benue.

“And as your children, we’ll not stop crying to you and asking that you pay particular attention on the issues affecting the North Central. The reason being that if the North Central is disorganised, Mr President, you’re disorganised because that is where you have your stability and so, whatever it’ll take Mr President to address the security challenges we have in the North-Central.”

Suswam said: “Last night (Sunday), the President-General of Miyetti Allah spent the night with me in Benue State. He told me there was a need for us to form a joint force, that is, the Benue and the Fulani communities, to fight these people who are creating these problems which shows that these are people who are foreign even to the Fulanis that we know.”

Responding, President Jonathan said: “The security personnel are moving in to strengthen the conventional security, that is, the police. But we’re working very hard with the NSA office to make sure that the security challenges we have across the country, whether in Borno State or the kidnapping in Edo, Bayelsa, Rivers, Abia and so on is checked. We’re coming up with different architecture that will deal with this insurgence. As we progress, we will begin to bring the situation under control.”

Speaking further, Jonathan said the governors from the North Central Zone had been stabilising the nation having stabilised the Nigerian Governors Forum when it became a “monster”.

The president hinted that the Rotimi Amaechi-led governors’ forum wanted him out of the Presidential Villa.

He said: “The governors from the zone have been stabilising the country because the way some of the governors talk and behave, if 50 percent of the governors behave that way, probably, we would have vacated this place and allow others to come and manage it for us. But they’ve been able to help to stabilise the whole country. When the governors’ forum became a monster and we had a lot of challenges, it was the North Central that came on board to stabilise the governors’ forum.”