*Seeks to secure future

By Jide Ajani

The North is strategising ahead of the constitutional amendment to pave the way for the seven-year single tenure for the president and governors proposed by President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure that part of the country is not shortchanged, Sunday Vanguard has learnt.

One of the plans already being perfected by members of the House of Representatives, specifically the Northern Caucus, is the composition of a 19-member committee of experts to critically look into any bill brought before the House for consideration.

Another strategy is the North’s proposed PEACE AND UNITY CONFERENCE where leaders from the region would meet in a no-holds-barred conference. This would come up later in the year.

Already, leaders from the region are mounting a mobilization campaign with a view to ensuring that participation at the conference would enjoy the benefit of eminent personalities.

Sunday Vanguard gathered that during one of the mobilization pursuit of leaders from the region, a meeting was held with the Northern Caucus of the House of Representatives.

They were led by Ahmed Mohammed GUSAU, Chairman, Peace & Unity Conference Planning.
It was at the meeting that a member of the House of Representatives disclosed that “the Northern Caucus in the House has put in place a team of nineteen (19) experts, saddled with the responsibility of critically looking into any Bill that is before the House with a view to ensuring that its negative effect on the North is addressed before its eventual passage.

“He thereafter cited the instance of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which according to him, in its original form, was arranged and prepared to scheme out the North in the revenue formula. While calling on the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, to continue to speak out for the North, the member stated that there are many things that they see but which they, as members of the legislature cannot on their own speak on, but that such issues will be forwarded to the ACF for the Forum’s appropriate response.

“He advised that strategic planning on 2015 Presidency must start in earnest. While expressing the appreciation of the A CF to the Northern Caucus members of the House, he canvassed for the cooperation of the Forum”.

The Northern leaders are of then view that when the proposal for the seven-year single term amendment is brought to the National Assembly, “it would fail just like the Third term Agenda of former President Olusegun Obasanjo”. It would be recalled that a wave of criticism trailed the suggestion of a possible amendment proposal for a single tenure of six years which President Goodluck Jonathan clarified in a media chat that he was considering seven years.

From what Sunday Vanguard discovered, the North is hurting because of the “seeming breach of trust demonstrated by Obasanjo who was brought to power in the belief that the North would produce a successor; instead, Obasanjo foisted Umaru Musa YarÁdua on the nation”.

In addition, the leaders lamented that most vacancies in key sectors of government are being filled “by President Jonathan with people from the South South. The leaders also identified Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, state governors in the North of compounding the already miserable situation the region has found itself with their “greed”.

The leaders concluded that “it was on this basis that they felt the compelling need for a Peace and Unity Conference aimed at re-assessing themselves and to also tell each other the home truth”.