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"Conscious of the unity of our great country and particularly taking into account the need to protect the interest of the North, majority of the northerners, irrespective of religious or party differences, unanimously supported the candidature of Chef Olusegun Obasanjo in the firm belief that the interest of the North would be adequately taken care of, should the PDP be elected.

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In terms of financial resources, the Sokoto governor described the Obasanjo administration as one of the most unfortunate the country has ever had.

He said that "by the time we came in, crude oil was selling at $9 per barrel. Three months later, the price shot up to $30 and remained so for two good years. If a state such as Sokoto could receive about N20 billion from the federation account over the period, one could imagine the quantum of resources at the disposal of the Federal Government all these years."

Emphasising that the unity and progress of the north must not be compromised, Bafarawa urged the ACF to always look to the future more than the past, so that achievements and failures could be reviewed and fine-tuned for greater accomplishments.

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He urged that "as the 2003 elections are drawing closer, we must put our heads together and set aside our political, social, religious, economic and other differences, speak and act together and mutually present a consensus candidate that has the genuine interest of the north at heart, irrespective of faith or party affiliations."

Bafarawa, however, noted that this could be achieved only if all northerners close ranks.

He noted that regrettably, the north is not united politically, socially, religiously and traditionally. He said while the west is 100 per cent AD (Alliance for Democracy), the south-south and south-east 100 per cent PDP, the north is 50 per cent APP (All Peoples Party) and 50 per cent PDP. Added to this, he said the APP is factionalised just as the PDP is divided into two factions, the PDP and PDM (Peoples Democratic Movement). This, he said, shows lack of cohesion and unity.

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"Today, it is 34 months that the president has been in power and rather than helping the nation, albeit the north to prosper, he has systematically destroyed the nation's foundation for sustainable development.""The block votes of the entire northerners in favour of Chief Obasanjo in the presidential elections require no emphasis. This was clearly so at a time when his fellow kinsmen outrightly rejected him as evidence in the election results in his own electoral ward, Ogun State and indeed the entire Yorubaland," the Sokoto State governor said.

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"In terms of development there is virtually nothing to show federal presence in the North, as most of the development-oriented projects are executed largely in the west. For instance, Ogun and Oyo States alone have benefited from over N30 billion worth of road projects, more than what the 12 states that make up north-west and north-east put together enjoyed."

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