Outrageous! Amidst recession, 19 Governors and government officials will travel to Washington DC next week.

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) will next week host 19 Northern state governors for 3 days in Washington DC.



According to Premium Times, they will be participating in the Northern Nigeria Governors’ Symposium from October 18 to 21 with civic leaders from the Senior Working Group of Nigeria and representatives of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The event is organized by the institute with support of U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, the upcoming Symposium is the second such event in as many years.

USIP Senior Advisors and former ambassadors, Princeton Lyman and Johnnie Carson speaking on Tuesday, October  11, at the pre-symposium media briefing, said the institute’s Northern Governors’ symposium was designed to bolster Nigeria’s commanding stature in Sub-Saharan Africa by addressing causes of instability and seeking opportunities for durable peace in the north.

Lyman, who was U.S. ambassador to Nigeria 1986 to 1989, said Boko Haram insurgency opened “new frontiers for engagement” and opportunity to address the “disconnect between political power and development” in northern Nigeria.

As of last week, only Governors Abdullah Abubakar (Bauchi), Kashim Shettima (Borno and head of the Northern Nigeria Governors Forum), Bello Masari (Katsina), Bako Lalong (Plateau) and Waziri Tambuwal (Sokoto) have confirmed their participation.

Minister of the Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, and Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi, have also confirmed their attendance.

The first one which held in May 2014 discussed security challenges caused by the Boko Haram insurgency and strategies for stabilization and development in northern Nigeria.