Former Governor Ahmed Yarima of Zamfara State has dropped a bombshell.

He said; “You see, I don’t think there is anything like agreement. You can ask Mr President, he led the group, Asiwaju was there, I was part of it; there was no meeting I didn’t attend or any meeting that I attended that there was such agreement. Agreement can’t be verbal, it has to be written.”

“In any case, any agreement that is contrary to laws of this country is not an agreement. The Constitution is very clear. We are in a democracy and democracy is governed by processes and procedures and by laws. So, the Constitution of Nigeria doesn’t recognise anything called zoning and, likewise, check APC Constitution.”

“If there is that agreement, why didn’t we put it in the Constitution? So, nobody will just come and say that there is an agreement. As a democrat, as a citizen of Nigeria, I can aspire based on the laws of Nigeria. The Nigerian Constitution has given rights and privilege to every citizen who believes he has something to offer to aspire for any office, irrespective of his state of origin, tribe, ethnicity and religion.”

“Can I give you example of America, George Bush (Snr) was president, George Bush (Jnr) became president. They are from the same family not from the same state, not from the same zone. This is democracy, if Nigerians decide to vote for Yarima, so it be.”

“Initially I was in support of negotiations because I have seen that negotiations had worked in the Niger Delta issue. We got amnesty programme and that why we have peace in the Niger Delta. So, anything that will bring peace and stability, I think it should be considered.”

“However, the governors should employ carrot and stick approach, talking to them and, where necessary, use military and police power to ensure that all those insurgents who refused to accept the agreement reached between them and government are brought to book. So that’s what they need to do.”