The Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum (PDPGF) has decried the deprecating value of the Naira, with a call to the Federal Government to take steps to address the economic and security challenges in the country.
Chairman of the Forum, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, stated this, yesterday, while speaking with journalist, after a meeting of the opposition governors, at the Oyo State Governor’ s Lodge in Abuja.
The governor, who was responding to questions on the rising cost of living in the country, said they supported the removal of fuel subsidy at the inception of the present administration with the believe that there were safeguards.
Regardless, he expressed dismay that the naira has been on a free fall, while the cost of living is rising.
According to him, “what we are doing is giving positive criticism to the obnoxious policies of the Federal Government. But at the onset of this administration, we supported the removal of subsidy, we believed that there were safeguards, we believed if we took collective decisions, we should go by it.
“But certainly, we have seen that it is a free fall for the naira. The cost of living is going high, we are almost on the road to Venezuela. So, we are giving concrete opposition but not insulting anybody.
“Ultimately, the decision squarely rests with Nigerians and other organs in the country to make sure we do things that will bring succour to all of us.”
Earlier, the forum, in a communique read by Mohammed reiterated its call for state police as part of measures to tackle the security situation in the country.
“The meeting reviewed the state of the nation and noted the hardship being faced by Nigerians as a result of the economic and security challenges facing the nation. The forum consequently urges the Federal Government to embark on initiatives involving all the sub-national governments to bring a lasting solution to the crises.
“The PDP governors will continue to play their part in the effort to bring security and succour to our people. To this end, we reiterate our call for state police with appropriate safeguards to avoid any abuse or overreach by any tier of government.
“The forum decried the falling value of the naira and requested the monetary and fiscal authorities to find appropriate solutions,” the forum said in the communique.
Nevertheless, the opposition governors noted that “we are working closely with the Federal Government since the inception of this administration. The rising cost of living is not only under the purview of the Federal Government.
“We have been partnering together with them to make sure we don’t bring any distraction; but the monetary and economic policies rests squarely with the Federal Government.
“The majority of Nigerians voted for this administration, so we are doing so much across party lines and on bi-partisan basis, within the Nigeria Governors’ Forum within the National Economic Council to make sure we cushion the effects of some of these policies.
“We have reached out to our people and opened the food reserves in a manner that it will provide some succour to our people at the lower level.”
The PDP governors passed a vote of confidence in the party’s national working committee, under the leadership of the acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum.
However, it urged the NWC to put machinery in place to hold meeting of its National caucus as well as national executive committee as soon as possible.
