…As body meets in Saïdia, Morocco
John Silas
Ekiti State Governor and Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Governor Fayemi, has been elected President of the Forum of Governors of Regions/ States of Africa at the body’s election held in Saidia, Morocco, on Friday.
Mr Oumarou Ousmanou, Governor of Northern Region of Cameroon was elected Vice President (Central Africa); while Prof Peter Anyang Nyongo, Governor, Kisumu County, Kenya was elected Vice President (East Africa).
Mme Bouida Mbarka, President, Morrocan Council of Regions was elected Vice President (North Africa) and David Makhura, Premier, Gauteng Province, was also elected Vice President, Southern Africa.
Governor Fayemi, in his acceptance speech, described the victory as a burden of history, adding that leadership isn’t just a title but an instrument that should be used to influence policies that would impact positively on the people.
He said it was time Africans stopped agonising and start organising.
He stated that the Forum will work assiduously to promote the vision of deepening decentralization and devolution for the material benefit of African people. He also pledged to use his office to strengthen the quest for African integration through the promotion of African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the SDGs 2030.
Dr Fayemi thanked his colleagues in the Forum for the honour and reiterated that all present must exhibit the desire to work in tandem with the Africa Union (AU) agenda.
Three other governors from Nigeria were in attendance at the two- day meeting. They are Godwin Obaseki (Edo); Nasarawa States Abdullahi Sule (Nassarawa) and Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (Kano).
