Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano state has said governors were not voted to power by Nigerians to destroy the country in its present critical stage, adding that the “unity and oneness of Nigeria as a nation is sacrosanct.”
Speaking at a special interaction with journalists at the Government House Friday, Ganduje said the clamour for power shift bandied about by governors in the Southern part of the country “is a simple political impasse that could amicably be resolved without necessarily stoking the embers of dissension and acrimony.”
He noted that even though there was nothing wrong for power to be shifted to any part of the country since it was based on a gentleman’s agreement, “it is equally not bad for one section of the country to retain power as long as a particular political party is able to win an election.”
According to him, “it is not for the governors to decide where the political pendulum swings as far as the issue of power shift is concerned.”
He said, “We should apologise to ourselves for crassly making uncomplimentary remarks. It is high time for us to begin to avoid anything capable of causing disunity and disharmony within us. The Southern governors should understand the simple fact that the issue of rotational presidency is unconstitutional. It is just a simple arrangement at the level of party hierarchy.
“We have to also take into cognisance the fact that our founding fathers have created the leeway for us to leave as one, irrespective of one’s tribal or religious leaning without grouse. I again want to reiterate the fact that the issue of power shift is a political issue and not a matter to be decided by some governors in the country.”
Continuing, he said, “I want to use this opportunity to call on the chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum to, as a matter of political expediency, convene a meeting to discuss the issue at stake. We should be mindful of the fact that the unity of this country is not negotiable under whatever guise and that preserving such a unity would be in the best interest of the country.
“We are not voted to power to destroy or Balkanise the country. We have an abiding responsibility to do whatever we can to safeguard the oneness of this country. Doing anything contrary to this amounts to doing a great disservice to ourselves. We should not allow primordial sentiments to cloud our sense of judgement.”
