Worried that the proliferation of Northern interest groups could become a stumbling block to the goal of the North getting back the Presidency in 2015, a former Federal Permanent Secretary, Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed unveiled a platform on Tuesday, the Joint Action Committee of Northern Groups (JACONG), that would serve as a coordinating unit for the groups.
Baba Ahmed, who said at a press conference in Kaduna, that it was high time they united to collectively protect the interest of the region and put a stop to a divided North, lamented that the North had, over the years, been divided along ethnic and religious lines.
He said JACONG would serve as a common platform for the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Northern Elders Forum (NEF), the Code Group, the Northern Reawekening Forum, the Arewa Research and Development Project and other similar groups in the region.
Ambassador I.B Mai-Sule has been appointed to serve as the chairman of JACONG, while Senator John Shagaya and Hon. Muhammad Kumalia are deputy chairmen. Other officials are Mr Solomon Dalung and Fati Ibrahim as Secretary and Financial Secretary respectively.
Baba-Ahmed, who said he was the committee’s Publicity Secretary, explained that one of their objectives was to take full advantage of the many options and opportunities available to the North. He said they wanted to see a situation where the North played very informed, disciplined and strategic role in the manner in which politics was conducted in the country.
“There are many opportunities and options available and we want to ensure that we work for those who will take decisions to make sure the North takes the best position in the interest of the people of the North,” he said.
According to him, “this platform is actually a collaboration of these groups. It is precisely created to reduce the duplication of efforts and the waste in energy. The groups have decided to create a common platform through which we will also pursue the same objectives though the various groups will continue to exist.”
JACONG, he said, had resolved to address the differences of the people of the North with a view to forging a common front and pursue its development.