The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has appointed Prof Ango Abdullahi, as its chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT) and convener of the forum, even as it demanded an end to the killings across the country.
A statement signed yesterday in Abuja by the chairman,NEF’s Implementation Committee, Mohammed Bello Kirfi, said the decision was taken at an extraordinary meeting of the forum held Wednesday in Abuja, to deliberate on critical issues concerning the organisation and the nation.
Kirfi said at the end of deliberations, NEF approved the new structure proposed by its special Think Tank and also appointed the new officers to run the organisation.
Other new leaders of the forum according to the statement include; Alh. Sani Zangon Daura as deputy chairman from North-west, Gen. Paul C. Tarfa (rtd) as deputy chairman from North-east and Amb. Yahaya Kwande as deputy chairman from North-central.
The statement said the forum also ratified the appointment of the already existing 21-member Board of Trustees and appoints the management board.
While lamenting the state of insecurity in the country, NEF strongly condemned what it described as “horrifying carnage and bloodletting going on in the North and other parts of Nigeria, associated with the Boko Haram insurgency and farmers and herdsmen clashes.”
“NEF wants an immediate and complete end to these unfortunate happenings and will work with government, other community and civil society organisations, traditional rulers, political leaders and the clergy to ensure that peace returns to the North and to Nigeria. In particular, NEF wants to see a total end to killings across the country.
“NEF would also like to see the introduction and application of modern livestock management practices in order to protect herdsmen and farmers, their families and communities, and enhance their quality of life,” the statement said.
