Governors of the 19 northern states under the umbrella of the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) have called for the immediate establishment of state police in order to address the escalating insecurity challenges in the country.
The governors took the decision in Abuja after a meeting with the Northern Traditional Rulers Council on Tuesday.
The traditional rulers also agreed with the governors on the need to create State police if the insecurity challenges in the northern region and the nation at large must be nipped in the bud.
Reading the communique after the meeting held at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Plateau State Simon Bako Lalong explained that the meeting reviewed the security situation in the North and other matters relating to its development and resolved to support the ammendment of the Constitution to accommodate the establishment of State police.
According to him, this would effectively and efficiently address the security challenges of the region.
The Forum also reiterated its commitment to the development of solar energy in view of the comparative advantage of abundant sunshine in the region.
The Governors and the traditional rulers also unanimously resolved that 2000 megawatts of solar power be harvested across the 19 States and FCT with a view to harnessing the huge potential of power from solar.
The joint meeting also noted with regret the ongoing ASUU strike which it believes was more punitive in the region as most of the students in the North are attending public Universities.
It, therefore, called on ASUU to cooperate with the federal government in resolving the dispute.
At the meeting, the Northern Governors also engaged officials of the World Bank to discuss the level of implementation of the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) and Nigeria for Women Project which are being implemented in five Northern States.
