- A northern leaders' group has said it would soon organise a political summit
- The group said the summit would help address some identified problems in the region
- According to Tanko Yakassai, the chairman of the group, the summit is not aimed at getting a consensus for a presidential candidate for the north in 2019
The chairman of the Northern Leaders and Stakeholders Assembly(NLSA), Tanko Yakassai, has said the group would soon organise a political summit involving politicians from the region.
He stated this when the group visited the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Wednesday May 9.
Yakassai said the summit would address some identified problems in the region.
He asked for the support of the National Assembly in hosting the event.
He further explained the purpose of the visit was to brief the Senate President on the formation of the organisation, including its aims and objectives.
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Yakasai said that the group was not out to get a consensus presidential candidate for the north as being rumoured in some quarters, but rather to cooperate with Nigerians, who shared in its vision and mission.
According to him, the group is out to formulate and device methods of preventing and resolving conflicts with the goal of creating and sustaining peaceful coexistence in the country
Responding, Saraki advocated advocated Executive-Legislature synergy to tackle insecurity in the country.
He noted that peace and unity was essential to achieve overall development of the country.
Saraki commended the group for coming together to contribute their quota in realising a peaceful and prosperous country.
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“You said you are political but non-partisan, we are all political and we need to get Nigeria in the right direction.
“Being leaders, this is the time to find lasting solutions. This is not the time for blame.
“This is the time for us to bring peace and regional dialogue. No society worth its salt will keep quiet in the face of these killings.
“Something somewhere is wrong. We need to meet to bring about peaceful coexistence and unity in this country. Part of the solution is to know that something is wrong.
“I am happy that you are here and we will speak truth about the problems and to conduct ourselves on how to encourage dialogue and ensure that the right thing is done,” he said.
Members of the group who visited the senate president were a former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, former Minister of Defence, Haliru Mohammed, former governors of Niger and Kogi, Babangida Aliyu, Idris Wada, and former FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed.
Others were former Minister of Women Affairs, Inna Ciroma, Umar Ardo, Zainab Maina and Joseph Waku, a former senator.
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com earlier reported that a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia state, Okey Adiaso, said that there is no altrenative to President Muhammadu Buhari for the forthcoming 2019 election.
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Adiaso said President Buhari’s second term does not depend on the wishes of northern leaders.
He said the opinion of the northern elders' group led by Ango Abdullahi on President Buhari's second term bid does not represent that of the whole northerners.
Source: NAN
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Source: Naija.ng
