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Insecurity: North-Central breaks away from Arewa-Consultative-Forum ACF, announces new group

Prominent leaders from the North-Central geopolitical zone have announced their painful exit from the Arewa Consultative Forum, citing the worsening insecurity in northern Nigeria and Buhari negligence of his 2015 promises that brought him to power.
The leaders announced the formation of the North Central Peoples Forum (NCPF) as a new independent platform to fight insecurity and marginalisation for the North Central states.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, the group said in spite of the abundant mineral and human resources in the zone, the North-Central was bedevilled by vices, like kidnapping, banditry and other forms of criminality.
The ACF currently has as its Chairman, the immediate-past Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who is from the North Central zone.
The new North-Central group is being led by a former Minister of State for Health, Gabriel Aduku, who is the interim chairman.
A former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Jerry Useni; a former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu; a former Military Administrator of Kwara State, Col. David Bamigboye (retd.); and a former deputy chief of staff to the President, Chief Olusola Akomode, were also listed as members.
The list also included the Publisher of Leadership Newspaper, Sam Nda-Isaiah; a former Nigeria Ambassador to South Africa, Ahmed Ibeto; a media consultant, Alhaji Tajudeen Kareem; a former Deputy Governor of Benue State, Chief Stephen Lawani and Alhaji Alfa Mohammed, among others.
Useni told journalists that the existence of similar groups in other parts of the country had given rise to group affinity and solidarity among the states in a particular geopolitical zone to canvass things of common interest.
He expressed confidence that the forum would unite the people of Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory in their quest to ensure that peace and stability was established and sustained within the zone.
He added that the forum would pursue rapid industrialisation across all nooks and crannies of the zone.

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