- •President asks lawmakers’ to approve N500b palliatives cash
I understand the suffering the people are going through as a result of the removal of petrol subsidy and will soon remedy it, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assured Nigerians yesterday.
He requested the National Assembly to approve N500 billion as palliatives in a letter to the two chambers.
The President also emphasised that electricity supply will receive a huge boost, assuring that his policies are geared towards revamping the economy in the interest of all Nigerians.
He spoke at Aso Villa in Abuja during a meeting with the class of 1999 governors, of which he is a member.
Eighteen of the former governors, led by Lucky Igbinedion (Edo), visited the President to pledge their support for his administration. Among the 36 governors of the 1999 class, only 26 of them are alive, according to Igbinedion.
Tinubu said: “I understand that our people are suffering; yet, there can be no childbirth without pain. The joy of childbirth is the relief that comes after the pain.
“Nigeria is reborn already with fuel subsidy removal. It is a rebirth of the country for the largest number over a few smugglers. Please, tell the people to be a little patient.
“We served as governors and sat in this Council Chamber. All I wanted was democracy and the salvation of the country. I never thought I was going to be here as President, but God Almighty has brought me.
“My commitment to that democratic value is unwavering. I am overwhelmed and honoured by the number of you here,
“I have an open-door policy. You are my advisers. We went into the pond and wrestled with a pig. We got dirty and cleaned up. That is why I am here today.”
President Tinubu noted that the country will not make meaningful progress without fixing electricity, assuring that his administration will harness gas resources, and explore every opportunity to ensure stable power generation and supply.
On security, the President who had earlier met with Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State to review the situation in the Northeast, appealed to Nigerians, especially Plateau State, to sheath their swords and use dialogue in resolving conflicts, adding that issues of borders were man-made, not created by God.
“We will do everything possible to stabilise the country,” he added.
The former governors urged the President to pursue his vision for a greater Nigeria with vigour, steadfastness, and resilience, trusting their support for development policies, and promising to provide the necessary social structure for actualisation.
“We are here with you. We are your foot soldiers, and you can tap into our experience. You are a person who believes in Nigeria. With your good leadership, Nigeria will take its place”, Igbinedion said.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Igbinedion said: “We came to congratulate Mr President and also to thank him for making one of us the Secretary to Government.
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“We came to assure him that he has our full support and prayers for the bold steps he has started to take, for his initiatives and also let him know that this is beyond party politics.
“We’re now talking about Project Nigeria, therefore all hands must be on deck to give Mr President the needed support and encouragement to foster a better nation.
“We also seized the opportunity to congratulate him as the new Chairman of the ECOWAS and assure him that we’re with him and anytime he wants to dig into the wealth of experience of these very prominent and well-founded members of Class of ’99, he should rest assured that we’ll continue to give him the necessary support.
“Therefore, Nigerians should wait patiently and believe in him, that he’s going to come up with palliatives that will put smiles on the faces of every one of us in Nigeria
“So, we believe him and we want to encourage you also to give him the necessary support through the media and give correct information to the general populace so that we’ll have a greater nation,” he said.
Igbinedion said the group had discussions on other national issues, ranging from security to unemployment and infrastructure needs.
“We talked about security, we talked about unemployment and we talked about electricity because without electricity, we really cannot develop. So for us to develop, there must be a constant, uninterrupted power supply.
“The issue of subsidy is gone and it’s gone forever. People should start finding their level and I’m sure we time things will come to normal and also the unification of the exchange rate into one now, as was also mentioned.
“So, these are just the basic issues that we raised there and Mr President, on his own, thanked us for coming en mass. You can see in 1999 we were 36, but today we’re now 26.
“We want to assure you that even though some of us have gone to the great beyond, the majority of us are still very much alive and it is our prayer that we’ll continue to be of service to our nation, without any prejudices,” he said.
He affirmed that they were 19 at the meeting, including President Tinubu, who was governor of Lagos State.
Also present was Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, who was governor of Benue State.
Other governors at the meeting were Niyi Adebayo (Ekiti), Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia), Sam Egwu (Ebonyi), Adamu Muazu (Bauchi), Donald Duke (Cross River), James Ibori (Delta) and Obong Victor Attah (Akwa Ibom).
Other were Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu), Saminu Turaki (Jigawa), Adamu Aleiro (Kebbi), Olusegun Osoba (Ogun), Adebisi Akande (Osun), Joshua Dariye (Plateau), Attahiru Bafarawa (Sokoto), Ahmad Sani Yarima (Zamfara) and Rev. Jolly Nyame (Taraba State).
