Despite the myriad of problems facing the country ahead of the crucial 2023 general election, former deputy governors have assured that the country would not disintegrate.

Rising from their maiden conference under the aegis of Forum of Former Deputy Governors Of Nigeria (FFDGN), which ended yesterday in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, the forum noted that the current socio-economic challenges confronting the nation were not peculiar to Nigeria but a global malaise demanding holistic action plan from patriotic Nigerians.

Chairman of the forum and former deputy governor of Abia State, Chris Akomas, who read the communique at the Ibom Icon Hotel and Golf Resort, Uyo, explained that the constitution of the Forum became necessary in order to aggregate ideas and proffer solutions to salvage the country.

"The Forum of Former Deputy Governors is a critical platform of quality managers of human and natural resources that must not be allowed to derail. Efforts must be sustained to reposition the forum to offer greater contributions for the nation building.

"Nigeria should always see its challenges in the context of global realities," Akomas noted, assuring that the knowledge and experiences of former deputy governors would soon be documented as a reference document for posterity.

The conference tagged: "Nation Building in Challenging Times", was chaired by the former attorney general and minister of justice, Chief Kanu Agabi, who noted that the country was still enmeshed in the influence of military dictatorship with its command structure, which has given rise to corruption, insecurity and other socio-political injustices.

He, therefore, submitted that Nigeria can overcome the challenges, since it had not been plunged into war soon after emerging from several years of military rule like Sudan, Rwanda, Iran, Soviet Union, Nicaragua and others.