Governors elected under the umbrella of the All ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, have identified weak governance as the cause of the spate of agitations by various ethnic nationalities.

The governors, under the aegis of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, PGF, however, called for structured processes of national consultations and negotiations to stem the tide of agitations.

This was part of a statement signed by the Forum’s Director General, Salihu Lukman yesterday in Abuja, where the governors urged all Nigerians, especially regional leaders to speak up against the upsurge of elements they described as irredentist movements.

The APC governors also pledged to work with party leaders, Federal Government and all Nigerians who were committed to democratic development to ensure unencumbered protection of lives of all citizens in every part of the nation.

PGF insisted that regardless of diverse identities and differences, the country must thrive.

The statement said, “Acknowledging the rich diverse heritage of Nigeria as a country, the PGF particularly note that the resurgence of desperate youth groups promoting ethno-regional identities and extremist positions from the different geo-political zones across the nation as currently experienced is a reflection of prevalent weak governance, poor economy and law enforcement system in Nigeria.

“PGF, therefore, called for the rise of all decent voices across this country to speak up against the upsurge of some desperate irredentist movements across all ethnic groups and support the emergence of a stronger and virile unified Nigeria for us all. The Forum insisted that, regardless of the nation’s diverse identities and differences, Nigeria has to thrive.

“While acknowledging that as a nation, we do have challenges, PGF believe that the resolution of those challenges rest with the development of our democracy and with it, the ascendency of structured processes of national consultations, negotiations and invariably agreements.

“Some of the challenges are highlighted in the accompanying PGF position – ‘There has to be a nation first.’ As governors elected under APC, we will work with our party leaders, the Federal Government and all Nigerians who are committed to democratic development in all parts of the country to ensure unencumbered protection of lives of all citizens in every part of the territorial boundary of our nation.

“We must create, by all means necessary, a country that we can collectively call our home, irrespective of tongues and localities.‎”