Governors
of All Progressives Congress, APC, controlled states, yesterday, complained
about dwindling allocation to their states and wondered why their Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, colleagues were not sharing their concern.
The APC governors
who met in Ilorin, Kwara State expressed concern about a possible secret
funding for the PDP states. The governors, who vowed to meet President Goodluck
Jonathan over the issue, also resolved to allow internal democracy to guide the
selection of a presidential candidate for the party.
The summit
of the APC governors under the aegis of the Progressive Governors Forum, PGF,
in Illorin, however, did not rule out the adoption of a consensus presidential
candidate, but insisted that it must be done within the ambit of internal
democracy.
The meeting
of the APC governors was also a valedictory session for former Governor Kayode
Fayemi who stepped down as governor of Ekiti State last Thursday. The APC
governors praised Fayemi for what they described as his exemplary strength of
character.
APC GOVS
—From left: Governors Abiola Ajimobi, Oyo, Ibrahim Shettima, Borno; and Rauf
Aregbesola, Osun; during the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governors’ Forum
in Kwara State Government House, Ilorin, yesterday.
At the
meeting yesterday were Rochas Okorocha of Imo State; Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers),
Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe), Kashim Shettima (Borno), Ishaq Ajimobi (Oyo), Rauf
Aregbesola (Osun), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) who was the
host and Dr. Fayemi.
Chairman of
the PGF, Governor Okorocha, who briefed newsmen at the end of the session which
lasted several hours, expressed concern over what he described as the dwindling
monthly allocation to the APC states.
He said:
“This issue has become a very serious concern to us as governors and we felt
that issues that affect the lives of our people must never be politicised. We
refuse to accept the fact that this nation is broke and thank God that the
Federal Government has confirmed that the nation is not broke. If the nation is
not broke, what is due to states should be given to states.
“This idea
of cutting what should go to states does not in any way promote democracy
and democratic dividends. And so, we as progressive governors, call on the
Federal Government to look into the issue of dwindling resources and convince
us why the states should not get what is due to them.
“We demand
to have a meeting with the President on this issue of dwindling resources
as quickly as possible,” he stressed.
Cash crunch
aimed at APC states
Expressing
concern that the cash crunch was partisan and directed at APC states, Okorocha
wondered why the PDP governors were not complaining.
“We do not
know why our colleagues in the PDP are not talking of this matter. If they are
not talking, it is either they are not affected or somehow they are getting
something from the back door which we do not know. I think the President or the
Federal Government should act quickly to quell the present ugly situation which
this terrible condition of dwindling resources points out to us by making sure
that the states get what is due to them, at least to pay salaries of their
workers.”
Giving the
backing of the governors to the APC leadership’s efforts to ensure smooth
nomination of candidates for various elective positions and the prospects of a
consensus presidential candidate for the party, he said:
“Our forum
is in full support of consensus as one of the ways to produce our
presidential candidate or any candidate in the party as long as it is done with
respect to internal democracy.
“There will
be no imposition of candidate in our party. Our forum has not adopted
any candidate but we shall encourage consensus and dialogue within
the leadership of the party and aspirants to see how we come up with a
candidate. But where that is not possible, like true progressives, we shall
have free and fair primaries.”
Governor
Okorocha, on behalf of his colleagues, also lauded the former governor of Ekiti
State “for a commendable show of character and a successful tenure in office,
having handed over the office of the Ekiti State Governor on Thursday
October 16, 2014.
Valedictory
seesion for Fayemi
Lauding
Fayemi, Okorocha said: “You had great vision for the state with the
achievements you recorded, history cannot say that you were without a purpose.
Your humility and display of sportsmanship after the announcement of a result
different from what majority of Nigerians expected and would have preferred to
be outcome of the June 21, 2014 election leaves us, your brothers and
colleagues, in admiration of you.
“In a free
and fair democratic system, the voice of the people is sacrosanct. It is the
thrust on which the foundation of good governance, transparency and
accountability is built. It is a voice that must be respected. But whether the
voice that supposedly spoke on the election day is really the voice of the
people is another matter. The people of Ekiti, whom you served so well and so
honourably, will live to tell. Needless to say that you have carved your name
in gold in the annals of Ekiti State, in our great party and the political
history of Nigeria.
“JKF,(John
Kayode Fayemi) you have shown to the world what it means to be progressive and
your conduct, both in and out of office will always be a point of reference so
we enjoin you to continue in your good stride, never forgetting your strength
of humility, hard work and steadfastness in fighting for the good of the people
and the eventual development of our country Nigeria.”
Responding,
an elated Fayemi said: “I am elated and full of gratitude for the support and
solidarity that you extended to me as a member of this forum and as a former
governor of Ekiti State. That I had served as a governor is even a rare
privilege but to have served alongside you as a member of this forum is a
greater opportunity as a Nigerian. This group has played a critical role in the
formation of our party because it was our maiden meeting in Lagos that gave us
the name progressive. I shall miss this body greatly”.
Fayemi,
however, assured the forum that he would forever remain a progressive, and
shall continue to make his impact felt in the country, Ekiti State and APC.
Minister of
Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala last
Tuesday assured that Nigeria is financially sound and has been meeting its
local and international financial obligations despite dwindling revenue from
crude oil export.
The Minister
who gave the assurance at a press conference in Abuja said: “Despite the
dwindling revenue of the nation due to falling crude oil prices and decrease in
output, the nation is not broke”.
She said,
“right now, we have fluctuations in the price of crude oil and when that
happens, it means that the money that comes into the coffers is a little bit
small. Does that mean that the country is broke? If we are not able to pay
salaries to people or meet other obligations then we can say the country is
broke but we have not got there. Nigeria is not broke.
“We may have
to cut down on some of our expenditures. We may have to mobilize more revenue;
we have to look at the fiscal policy; we have to look at the monetary policy
–all of these have to come together and we are looking at them right now in the
Ministry of finance.
“I want to
assure Nigerians that we are putting in place contingency plans so that our
economy remains stable.”
According to
the minister, the current realities of falling oil prices and reduction in
quantity of production have made the diversification of the economy more
imperative now than ever.
She added
that in spite of the global economic challenges the Nigerian economy remained
resilient, growing at about 6.5 per cent, making it one of the fastest growing
economies of the world.
Her team at
the Ministry of finance, she added had been working round the clock to ensure
that the real sectors of the economy, especially, agriculture and power, among
others received the needed impetus to boost productivity and provide jobs.
Source - Vanguard
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