The forum made this assertion on Friday in a communique issued at the end of its meeting in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
According to the communique, the forum claimed that the region has the highest rate of unemployed youths in the country.
The communique reads in part, “The meeting did a comprehensive review of the security and economic situation of the Middle Belt states and came to the conclusion that the region has been badly affected by unfavourable policies of successive federal administrations in the country which have left the region grossly marginalized in terms of youth employment, empowerment for young people and general development.
“The Middle Belt is currently rated as the region with the highest rate of youth unemployment in the country.
“The Forum is deeply saddened by the spate of insecurity in parts of the Middle Belt region which has left thousands of people dead and rendered many others homeless with thousands of widows and orphans.
“The Forum sympathizes with families of victims of attacks carried out by herdsmen, bandits and other terrorists operating in the Middle Belt”.
DAILY POST reports that the claim of marginalization has birthed two secessionist groups in the country.
The proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB has in many decades ago, demanded the disintegration of the country claiming that the Southeast Region has always been marginalized by the Federal Government.
Similarly, a secessionist group in the Southwest, led by the Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo popularly known as Sunday Igboho have moved for the actualization of Oduduwa Kingdom as a sovereign state for the Yoruba nation over alleged marginalization.
