Northern Governors’ Forum Welcomed US Military Assistance

The Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF) applauded the decision by the U.S. to make practical steps in rescuing over 200 missing girls from GGSS Chibok, Borno State.

The position of the forum was announced by its chairman, the Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, in the night of May 7, 2014, Wednesday, who met an administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Rajah Shah, along with some other Northern governors.

The meeting took place at the residence USAID Director in Nigeria, Michael Harvey, in Maitama, Abuja.

Aliyu told USAID administrator about the latest updates on the search and rescue of kidnapped female students. He also warned that it was critical to find them, otherwise Nigeria would be taken “50 years back”, because the parents would refused to send their children to schools.

In his return, Shah expressed sympathy for the families of the kidnapped girls, confirmed once again readiness of Obama’s administration to help find the missing girls.

The U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, confirmed the team would be in Nigeria “shortly” and would include only those specialists what Nigeria security services require the most.

The Northern states were represented by governors Umaru Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa), Idris Wada (Kogi), Mukhtar Yero (Kaduna), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and acting governor of Taraba State, Garba Umar, deputy governors Ahmed Gumel (Jigawa), Umar Ganduje (Kano), Stephen Lawani (Benue), the secretary to the Zamfara State government, Tijani Kaura and the Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S., Ade Adefuye.

It would be recalled that the previous big meeting between the Northern Governors and U.S. decision-makers was held on March 17-19, 2014, in Washington D.C. During the talks the governors have reportedly accused President Jonathan and his administration of sponsoring Boko Haram terrorism.

Source: Legit.ng