Northern Govs assure Southerners of safety
The Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State on Monday assured Southerners resident in parts of northern Nigeria of the safety of their lives and property.
Aliyu who recalled in the years past when Igbos residence in parts of Niger State, Minna the state capital in particular, outnumbered indigenes, said the need for Nigerians to be recognised in any part of the country has become necessary to check intruders who sneak into the country to cause havoc using language semblance to their advantage.
The NSGF chairman apparently reacting to the rumour that southerners have been giving notice to quit some northern states while churches have been denied lands to build worship centres said it is unfortunate that after enjoying the votes of Muslims and Christians, the latter is being discriminated against.
“It is unfortunate that some states deny Christians land to build worship centres after-all Christians and Muslims jointly voted for them. Nobody has asked southerners doing legitimate businesses in the North to leave; we accommodate everybody,’ the NSGF said.
Aliyu spoke during the flag-off of the inauguration of the states’ new Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) which took place at the Emir’s palace.
He told the gathering that ‘every Nigerian has equal rights and free to do businesses in any part of the North so long as they operate within the confines of the law’.
Against the backdrop of insurgents’ threats and onslaught in some northern states, Aliyu assured that governors in the region are more than ready to protect the lives and property of all residents in the region and would not do anything that would scare away people from the region.
“The state administration and those of others in the region will not discriminate against anyone on account of their tribe or religion as long as they are Nigerian citizens. We will give equal treatment to everyone,’ the NSGF said.
In replication of Nigeria’s heterogeneous status and home as home for all, Babangida Aliyu said his administration had been giving certificate of occupancy to adherents of the two major religions in Nigeria to build churches and mosques while those being classified as ‘non-indigenes’ that applied were also issued with the document without any strings attached to their requests.
“The present administration intends to issue more than 50,000 C of Os in the next five years,” Governor Aliyu explained, adding that in the first instance, 5,000 of such documents would be available before the end of 2014.
Governor Aliyu, however, warned that those issued with the land title but refused to develop them within a specified period stand the risk of losing the documents to others who are interested in supporting government in the development of the state
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