Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State said the retreat of Nigeria Governors’ Forum holding in Sokoto would give them time to reflect on national issues.
Fayemi made this remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Sokoto on Saturday, venue of the two-day retreat being hosted by the Sokoto State Government.
Fayemi, who arrived in the state in a chartered aircraft, also said the governors would explore the retreat to peer-review Sokoto State with a view to replicating best practices in their respective states.
He said: “When we come to a place, we learn one or two things that the government there is doing well and we look at the best practices that we can take to our states.
“This retreat will offer us the opportunity to really reflect collectively on the direction this country is heading.”
NAN reports that Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State arrived in Sokoto for the retreat in the company of Prof. Wole Soyinka in a chartered aircraft.
Governors of Adamawa and Osun States also arrived in Sokoto for the retreat in a chartered aircraft.
Deputy Governors of Kano and Oyo States had also arrived in the state to represent their bosses at the retreat.
Soyinka is expected to deliver a speech on Good Governance and the Imperative for Managing and Leaving a Sustainable Legacy alongside Bishop Mathew Kukah at the retreat.
The governors and other guests were received at the airport by Alhaji Muhtar Shagari, the Sokoto State Deputy Governor, and Asishana Okauru, the Director-General of the NGF Secretariat.
The retreat, organised by the NGF under the Chairmanship of Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State, is the second so far.
The first was held by the forum for newly elected and re-elected governors in May 2011 in Abuja, aimed at strengthening the institution and preparing governors for better governance.
The 2011 retreat was organised in collaboration with the US National Governors Association.
The Sokoto retreat, slated for November 15 and 16, chaired by Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, was to further encourage good governance and accountability at the sub-national level.
The former Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Muhammed Uwais, is expected to speak on Constitutionalism, Rule of Law and Human Rights.
Other guest speakers include the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and the Central Bank Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who would be speaking on the nation’s economy.
According to the programme, President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to deliver an address at the retreat.
Alhaji Sambo Dasuki, the National Security Adviser, and Ephraim Lapid, former Israeli Defence Intelligence spokesman, are expected to speak on the nation’s security.
Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State and Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State are expected to be discussants at the retreat.
Also expected as discussants are Governors of Ondo, Cross River, Enugu, Ogun, Anambra, Benue, Bayelsa, Oyo, Edo, Delta, Borno, Ebonyi, Rivers, Kano, Niger, Gombe, Lagos and Bayelsa States.
Alhaji Sa’ad Gada, the Secretary to Sokoto State Government, said that the state was prepared to host the retreat and to make the governors’ stay memorable.
The NGF is an umbrella association of the 36 elected serving state governors of the federation, irrespective of party affiliations
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