Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have warned that if the alarming drift of Nigeria under the watch of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government continues, the country would become a failed state.
They expressed deep concern and alarm at the deteriorating relations between various groups in Nigeria, even as all the country’s fault lines and differences were being stretched to the limit by the APC government that clearly lacks the capacity to govern.
The governors under the aegis of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum, met in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, last Friday, to review the state of affairs in the country, and common developments in their states.
The Chairman, PDP Governors’ Forum and Sokoto State Governor, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, who read the communiqué issued at the end of their meeting, observed that due to the rise in ethnic and tribal tensions, religious divisions, and various forms of social and political cleavages, Nigeria was in dire need of leadership at the federal level to avert the looming disaster.
“The meeting was similarly alarmed that security of lives and property of Nigerians are no longer guaranteed under the present government as a result of leadership incompetence and mismanagement of the nation’s affairs.
“While noting that governors have a role to play in the handling of some of the worsening situations, they regret that their hands are tied behind their backs as the entire coercive authority in the country is monopolised by the APC-led Federal Government.
“Time has come to take advantage of the ongoing Constitution Amendment process to decentralise the security architecture of Nigeria and involve states and local governments.”
He explained that the governors reaffirmed their conviction that an urgent devolution of powers and restructuring of the country in a way that brings together various groups and tendencies in the country appears to have become imperative and timely now as Nigeria cannot afford another civil war.