The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has declared that the presidency should remain in the South in the next four years in the interest of national political stability.
In a communiqué issued on Sunday in Kaduna at the end of an emergency meeting held on Saturday, the forum urged political parties to present southerners as their presidential candidates for the 2027 general election.
The forum also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be “truly independent in handling the affairs of political parties and the conduct of all elections”.
The communiqué was jointly signed by Oba Oladipo Olaitan, Leader of Afenifere and Chairman of SMBLF; Dr. Bitrus Pogu, President of the Middle Belt Forum; Senator John Azuta Mbata, Leader of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide; and Ambassador Godknows Igali, Chairman of PANDEF.
SMBLF expressed concern over the controversy surrounding certain sections of the Electoral Act, saying they could significantly affect the integrity of elections and create tension in the polity. It therefore urged the National Assembly to review the contentious sections.
The communiqué stated that, in view of the importance of the Electoral Act to free and fair elections and credible democratic processes, SMBLF had constituted a special committee for a holistic review of the affected sections of the Act.
The forum also called on the judiciary to “remain truly independent and ever alert to its constitutional roles of interpreting the constitution and the laws in the interest of peace, stability and progress of the nation and its democracy.”
It also called on the Nigerian press to “remain ever vigilant as the Fourth Estate of the Realm in line with its acknowledged historic roles in the struggle for Nigerian Independence and as veritable defender of her democracy.”
The forum further passed a vote of confidence in the capacity and patriotism of the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies to protect lives and property as well as the nation’s territorial integrity.
The communiqué stated: “SMBLF noted with concern that the security agencies are overwhelmed by inadequate personnel commensurate with the size and population of the country and urged the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces to ensure massive improvements in this regard in the interest of the security and well being of the people and the nation’s territorial integrity.
“SMBLF observed with dismay the red carpet treatment and incentives given the purportedly repentant terrorists by the Nigerian state and governments of some of the sub national states under the guise of amnesty while the victims of their genocidal crimes remain involuntary guests at IDP camps wallowing in squalor and their homes remain occupied by terrorists without hope of return.”
The communiqué maintained that “the cardinal ingredient of sovereignty being the security of life and property the minimum expectation of Nigerians is that the terrorists be rooted out of their ancestral homes and farmlands of the indigenous people by all means possible by the Nigerian state.”
On community policing, SMBLF noted the efforts and steps taken by the federal government and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) on the convocation of state and community policing through the memorandum presented to the National Assembly by the IGP.
The forum, however, decried the unnecessarily long gestation period of 60 months for the institutionalisation of state police as proposed in the published recommendations by the IGP.
The communiqué stressed that “with the reality of the current state of insecurity, the country cannot afford the luxury of such delay in ensuring State and Community Police to complement the efforts of the Federal Police and other security agencies.”
SMBLF also expressed concern over what it described as misguided xenophobic attacks by some South Africans against Nigerians and called on the federal government to make necessary arrangements for the evacuation of Nigerians willing to return home.
The communiqué lamented the current global economic situation and appealed to the federal government to redouble efforts to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians.
It urged the government to provide focused support for local crude oil refineries and implement clear programmes aimed at stopping the importation of refined petroleum products.
