President Bola Tinubu and all 36 state governors under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum are currently meeting at the Council Chamber of the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
The meeting commenced on arrival of the President to the chamber at about 11:34am.
The meeting follows the recent hike in prices of food, raw materials for production, economic hardship and insecurity recorded nationwide.
Recall that the Governors of the Peoples’ Democratic Party unanimously compared Nigeria’s economic conditions to that of Venezuela, a South-American at the verge of hyperinflation, disease, crime and high level starvation resulting to high mortality rates.
The presidency also flawed the performance of the governors, pointing out their non-comformance to the pay salaries, pension, and the Thirty Thousand Naira minimum wage.
Aggrieved Nigerians had previously marched in protest, expressing their frustrations and demands for solutions to the economic crisis, particularly the high cost of living in their areas.
The Organized Labour has also voiced its discontent with the state of the nation’s economy as they threatened to go on nationwide strike if the government does not quickly provide lasting solutions to alleviate the economic hardships experienced by Nigerians.
Those in the meeting are; Vice President Kashim Shettima, Director-General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume; the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu and the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Governors from the following states are present: Borno, Prof. Babagana Zulum, Edo, Godwin Obaseki; Rivers, Sim Fubara; Ekiti, Biodun Oyebanji, Nasarawa, Abdullahi Sule, and Anambra, Prof. Charles Soludo.
The governor of Kwara, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq; Plateau, Caleb Mutfwang; Kaduna, Uba Sani; Adamawa, Ahmadu Fintiri; Jigawa, Umar Namadi; Kogi, Ahmed Ododo; Yobe, Mai Mala Buni; Niger, Mohammed Bago; Abia, Alex Otti; Enugu, Peter Mbah; Benue, Hyacinth Alia and Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos.
Meanwhile, Governors of Oyo, Bauchi, Sokoto, Kano, Zamfara, and Delta State, are absent as they were represented by their Deputies.
Also, Ministers of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike; Information, Mohammed Idris; Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari are well seated.
The primary focus will be on addressing the economic and security challenges facing the nation.
Stay tuned as more information will be shared as the meeting progresses.
