The governors are meeting a few weeks after they recommended 33 steps for President Muhammadu Buhari to take to rescue the nation’s economy.
Nigerian governors are set to meet in Abuja on Wednesday over the state of the nation’s economy, insecurity, and healthcare, among others.
The Director of Media and Public Affairs for the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, made this known in a statement to journalists on Tuesday.
The state of the economy, he said, will dominate the conversation when the 36 governors meet at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The meeting comes weeks after the governors recommended 33 steps for President Muhammadu Buhari to take to rescue the nation’s economy.
It also comes barely 24 hours after the federal government was warned against acute hunger as the inflation rate hit 19.6%.
According to the statement, the NGF is worried about the economic woes that Nigerians have complained 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,” he said, “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.”
While Mr Bello-Barkindo noted that the economy and insecurity will feature prominently in the conversation, he said this will be the first time this year that governors had “collectively advised the president on the weeding of 50-year-olds from the federal civil service and other spurious suggestions meant to impose further hardship on the people.”
“Governors will collectively meet to consider a total overhaul of the nation’s economy.”
At the meeting, the governors are also expected to launch the Primary Health Care (PHC) Leadership Challenge Fund.
The PHC Leadership Challenge Fund is a leadership challenge among the 36 states of Nigeria and the FCT, designed to catalyse the implementation of the Seattle Declaration by State Governors and renew political commitments to improve PHC outcomes.
The Seattle Declaration is a set of commitments made by governors to prioritise primary healthcare in their states. It was adopted by the NGF at the November 2019 National Executive Council meeting.
The Challenge Fund is funded by the BMGF, and managed by UNICEF, Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat, and National Primary Healthcare Development Agency. It targets governance, leadership, and commitment to PHC by governors across the 36 states and the FCT.
THEGUARDIAN
