[4] On 9 August 2001, a delegation from the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), which represents the North, visited Jos, Plateau State, in the heart of the middle belt.
[5] In September 2001, retired Air Commodore Dan Suleiman, former governor of Plateau State and chairman of the forum, said the middle belters are grossly marginalised and have become an endangered species on the brink of extinction and cultural annihilation.
[6] In an August 2002 interview following civil unrest in the middle belt, Dan Suleiman partially blamed the far north leaders for encouraging the violence.
[11] In November 2009, the chairman of the forum, Wilberforce Juta, proposed a constitutional amendment where each state in Nigeria would take full control of its resources, paying a 75% tax to the Federal Government.
[13] However, in January 2010, Shaahu said that the problem could be solved within the constitution if Yar'Adua were to transmit a letter to the National Assembly directing them to transfer power to the Vice President.