Governors meet Tinubu, pledge to complement FG’s relief initiatives

State governors have pledged to complement Federal Government’s initiatives aimed at providing relief to Nigerians, Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi said on Friday in Lagos.

Gov. Bello stated this after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu.

He said the successful implementation of the succour pledged by the Federal Government to cushion the negative effect of the fuel subsidy removal must be matched by all tiers of government.

“Now we have a leader who has clearly spelt out his policy direction for revamping the economy and he needs all our support.

“That support will be complemented by the state governors.

“We are all ready to provide relief for our people. We feel their pains and trust the people to be patient in this trying phase, so that they will reap the benefits of the new government’s economic initiatives.

“We shall not let the President down and we shall not let our people down in this phase of new economic journey to a stronger and resilient nation.

“The President has given us that full assurance of being people-friendly,” the governor said.

Similarly, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia of Benue said already his government has marshalled out an action plan to restore the lost glory of the state “after the long drought”.

He said the state government has worked out immediate policies to stimulate both the civil service and agriculture sector as remedial interventions towards a vibrant Benue.

“The people of Benue, and indeed all Nigerians, can be rest assured that a new dawn is coming to Benue.

“I have started by working on the welfare of the civil servants. That is not even a project that ordinarily one should state. But it’s a way forward due to what we met on ground.

“Other agricultural incentives for farmers are in the pipeline and will be unfolded very soon.

“I want to restore Benue to its position of being the food basket of Nigeria. Agricultural potential in the state is worth more than crude oil,” Alia said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that state governors in the country have national, zonal and local fora, irrespective of party affiliations, where they meet to harmonise policies and programmes.

The Nigeria Governors Forum, the Progressive Governors Forum and the six zonal chairmen of governors are all systems put in place for such meetings of minds.