Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Bako Lalong has disclosed that the success of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the President-elect was as a result of power shift to the Southern part of Nigeria by the Northern Governors of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Dr. Makut Simon Macham, Director of Press and Public Affairs to the Governor, in a statement on Saturday, said the governor stated this at the 9th Annual Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Lecture on Leadership and Good Governance held in Lafia, Nasarawa State, on Saturday.
According to the statement, the power shift was to promote the unity, peace and stability of Nigeria within the spirit of fairness, equity and justice which the late Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, stood for.
According to him, the late Sardauna lived a life of accommodation, tolerance, justice and fairness, his legacies have endured long after his demise and continue to inspire leadership in the region and country at large.
The statement urged all Nigerians, both in the North and across the country, to support President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as he takes on the mantle of leadership, adding that the North is an important stakeholder in the Nigerian project and its contributions towards his election cannot be over emphasized.
“When I led my colleagues the Northern Governors to push for power shift to the south, it was not because we wanted Asiwaju to be President.
” Rather, we wanted to ensure that justice and fairness prevails in our nation for the unity, peace and harmony.
” That is what we believe our revered father of blessed memory Sir Ahmadu Bello would do in such circumstances.
“Fortunately, the party delegates chose Asiwaju who was eventually accepted by Nigerians as he was unanimously elected”.
He said the Northern region needed serious attention in various sectors ranging from security, education, infrastructure, agriculture, economic revival and restoration of law and order in various areas that have been ravaged by insecurity.
He said the Northern Governors Forum, under his leadership, has done a great deal of work on bringing people together as one with a common destiny
