•Group alleges plan to blackmail, undermine military leadership
•Body warns IMF, W’Bank against distracting President
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has alleged that the North “is currently under siege of the bad governance of President Bola Tinubu’s administration”, stating that the “poor socio-economic policies” of the Federal Government were affecting the region adversely.
According to it, unless the people take drastic steps to save the North in 2027, worse days are ahead.
Consequently, the group has backed Northern politicians and others to ‘save’ the region and the country at large.
At its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Kaduna on Tuesday to review things in the region under President Tinubu’s administration, ACF urged northerners to vote against ‘bad governance’ in 2027.
Addressing the meeting held at its national secretariat in Kaduna, ACF Chairman, Mamman Mike Osuman (SAN), noted: “There is now a clarion call for individual sacrifices and inputs for the survival of our region and emancipation of the down-trodden people.
“A sizeable number of our brothers and sisters in the Region have demonstrated proclivity towards politics and political offices come 2027. They are already focusing on the 2027 elections. While politics is sine qua non in our clime, this present moment calls for the recognition of our region’s plights and strategic efforts for ameliorating hardships that have affected our people.”
BESIDES, a group, Arewa Concerned Citizens Forum (ACCF), has raised the alarm over an alleged plan by some political enemies of the President to orchestrate a campaign against the country’s military leadership.
The forum claimed that the political adversaries had employed paid writers to concoct petitions against the military leadership and undermine its crucial role in maintaining the unity and security of the country.
The body raised the alarm in a statement signed by seven of its members, Alhaji Tijani Usman (Katsina State); Dr Victor Bobai (Kaduna State); Adeosun Femi (Kwara State); Mrs Precious George (Benue State); Barrister Ibrahim Kolo (Niger State); Mallam Aminu Suleiman Hadeja (Jigawa State), and Haruna Musa Goza (Borno State).
It emphasised that the attempts threatened not just the stability of President Tinubu’s administration, but also the fabric of the nation.
ALSO, another body, Arewa Think Tank (ATT), has warned officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank against distracting Tinubu from implementing good policies for Nigerian citizens, stating that IMF policies had failed to transform the country’s economy.
In a statement yesterday, the convener, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, alleged that the IMF was trying to discourage the President from ensuring that Nigerians enjoy the dividends of democracy.
The group said: “We want to condemn IMF in all ramifications. We want to remind them that if they cannot pay us in the good coins in the 70s that Nigeria borrowed them money, they should leave us alone. If you see the IMF saying that Nigeria is working, it means the country is working against its citizens. Nigeria should not take this IMF people seriously. It is because they have noticed that President Tinubu’s policies are working seriously, and that is why they want to discourage him and distract him.
“We agree with the former Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigeria’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Prof Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, who has said that years of economic prescriptions from the IMF and the World Bank have failed to transform Nigeria’s economy for the better.” (Guardian)
