National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has called for specific constitutional roles for deputy governors in Nigeria to deepen good governance in the country.
He made the call Tuesday in Abuja at a two-day annual conference of the Forum of Former Deputy Governors of Nigeria (FFDGN) with the theme, ‘Partnering in the shared vision for good governance and sustainable development.’
Ganduje, a former deputy governor of Kano State, who later became governor, was represented by Hon. Emma Eneukwu, the APC deputy national chairman (South).
He said, “Assigning constitutional roles would prevent unnecessary clashes between governors and their deputies. As you create awareness, as you meet people and talk to leaders of our country, there is a need to constitutionally give roles to the deputy governors.”
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Also, a former Attorney General of the Federation, Kanu Agabi, urged political leaders to be guided by patriotism in all their endeavours.
He added that nothing was wrong with the Nigerian Constitution, but the inability to observe it.
In his remarks, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Gorge Akume, urged the governors to find it expedient to delegate some key roles to their deputies.
Akume, who was represented by a director in the SGF office, Simon Tyungu, said such would give them a sense of belonging.
“Nigeria is presently facing a lot of very demanding challenges and this is because the effect of governance is not being felt by the majority of Nigerians as it should be. To this end, I want to use this platform to advocate for a shared national vision between the federal government, state government, and local government to be implemented within four years,” he said.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State and the Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) urged all serving and former governors and their deputies to continue to work together for nation-building.
