Worried by the economic woes that the citizenry has been complaining about and the hardship associated with it, several governors reasoned that it is high time to tell each other the bare truth.
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – The Governors of 36 states of the federation, under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), will on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, meet in Abuja to discuss the state of Nigeria.
The meeting will hold at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Director of Media and Public Affairs of the NGF, Mr Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, said in a statement on Tuesday, August 16, in Abuja, that issues to be deliberated include economy, insecurity and other challenges.
He stated: “Worried by the economic woes that the citizenry has been complaining about and the hardship associated with it, several governors reasoned that it is high time to tell each other the bare truth by confronting each other on the situation and brainstorming on it.
“This formed the basis for resorting to an in-person meeting which since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic been relegated by the states’ executives.
“Two things will feature prominently in the conversation: the economy and security.”
While noting that the meeting will be the first to be held collectively by the governors on the nation’s economy in 2022, he dismissed recent media reports that the governors had collectively advised the president to compulsorily retire civil servants aged 50 and above as spurious.
Barkindo also said other suggestions meant to impose further hardship on the people were not recommended by the governors.
He further stated that the governors would launch the Primary Health Care Leadership Challenge Fund and the World Bank SFTAS charter before going into the meeting, which is expected to commence by 2pm.
Furthermore, the governors would receive an update on the COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus programme at the meeting, he added.