By HENRY UMORU

ABUJA – CHAIRMAN, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Dr. Bukola Saraki, said yesterday that his successor would emerge next week after a due process, just as he stressed that the forum is the strongest political pressure group in the country today.

Speaking with journalists at the weekend, Saraki, also the outgoing Kwara State governor, described the last process where something close to a palace coup that almost led to his removal and replacement by Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun Sttae as part of democracy and an indication that the forum has arrived.

He said,  ‘’as you know at that time when I was contesting as a candidate on the PDP platform and so, of course, that time, you expect politics sometimes to come into this type of issue but I think at the end of the day, the kind of forum we had set up prefer to push for democracy, rule of law and due process.

‘’I think it just shows the maturity of the forum. It just shows that truly the forum had arrived because in the past those kind of activities would have been successful but the members of the forum said ‘no, we as the Governors’ Forum are the ones advocating for good governance, democracy, due process, how can we as a forum forget that he is our chairman.”

On a successor, he said, “Within the next week, a likely successor will emerge who also will be able to take the forum to the next level.”

On when exactly next week, he said, ‘’Well,  you know this is a very busy time for everybody. We thought we will be able to hold a meeting at our retreat but we have been very busy we have not been able to. We have a valedictory session on Monday in Ilorin.

‘’Whether time would permit again for us to do it, maybe, then we have another meeting with the UN Secretary General on Tuesday maybe during that if we have time; but we will try and find time to be able to elect a successor,”he said.