By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of Kwara State, Mr Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, has emerged as the new Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF).
He will replace the Governor of Sokoto State, Mr Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, whose tenure of office will elapse on May 29, 2023.
This was contained in a communiqué signed by Mr Tambuwal at the end of the 7th emergency meeting of the state governors held on Tuesday night in Abuja.
It was gathered that Governor Abdulrazaq emerged through consensus, while the Governor of Oyo State, Mr Seyi Makinde, was chosen as vice chairman of the forum.
“On the leadership of the Forum, the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, emerged the new Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum through a consensus, and the Governor of Oyo State Seyi Makinde is now the vice chairman,” the communique read in part.
“Members expressed satisfaction with the success of the just concluded induction for new and returning governors that took place between the 14th and 19th of May, 2023.
“Members committed to sustained collaboration among the states through enhanced peer review, learning at the sub-national level and deepening the relationship with the federal government and other institutions.
“Finally, members were briefed by the Chairman of the Forum that the Minister of Finance has granted the request of the Forum to immediately stop further deductions from the accounts of states to meet Local Government Councils London Paris Club obligations and the monies so far deducted be paid back to the states.”
The new NGF Chairman won the reelection to lead the North Central state to serve a second term of another four years in office under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The governor beat the two-thirds requirement and won in all 16 local government areas of the state in the election results.
Mr Abdulrazaq polled 273,424 votes to beat his closest rival, Mr Yaman Abdullahi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 155,490 votes in the election.
Modupe Gbadeyanka