Niger State Governor and Chairman North Central States Governors’ Forum (NCSGF), Abubakar Sani Bello, has decried the ill-treatment given to the North Central Zone by the Federal Government in socio-political calculations of the country.
Bello, who stated this during a visit by the contact team from the Sen. George Akume led by Senator Jack Gyado in Minna on Tuesday, said the region deserves.to get fair bargain in the political arrangement of the nation.
He explained that currently, the zone has been abandoned, saying it is neither in the core north or core south political calculations.
“The North Central Zone had been sociopolitically marginalized and unfairly treated in terms of infrastructural development. I feel we have not been fairly treated. Politically, we have been abandoned, we are neither here nor there in the core north or core south political calculations. We are hardly noticed even though the zone has always delivered bloc votes for the APC during elections.
According to him, it is for this reason that the party’s leadership in the region decided to indicate interest and support aspirants from the region to vie for party offices including the chairmanship position.
The governor assured that the party is ready to support any candidate from the North Central Geopolitical zone with the requisite credentials and pedigree to unite the party and importantly retain power in 2023.
However, he expressed his commitment to ensure the ruling APC retains power at the center, state and local government levels across the country.
Earlier, the leader of the Sen. George Akume Contact Team, Senator Jack Gyado, explained that they were in the state to seek support of the state for Sen. Akume, who is eyeing the National Chairmanship of the party.
He stated, “Senator Akume has the quality, credentials and requisite experience to fill the void of the National Chairmanship position of the ruling party. He was a retired Permanent Secretary, two term Governor, three term Senator and now a Minister. Akume possesses the pedigree to consolidate the party’s gains and achievements.”
Gyado, however, stated that for that to be actualized, the leadership of the party in the region have roles to play in ensuring that the position of the National Chairman of APC is zoned to the North Central.