Apparently disturbed by the latest damning report on the poverty rate in Nigeria and the country’s dwindling economic fortunes, governors of the 36 states of the federation will meet today.
The meeting, LEADERSHIP gathered, may not be unconnected with the report released last Thursday by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics indicating that 133 million Nigerians are now poor.
According to the government’s statistics agency, more Nigerians have slipped under the poverty line, with over three out of every five Nigerians confirmed poor.
This is despite that the government at the centre is currently running a policy and programme that aim to wriggle 100 million of the citizens out of poverty.
The state governor are to meet today to discuss further steps toward the revival of the economy and a new order that would ensure safety and enhance the livelihoods of all Nigerians.
An invitation issued by the director-general of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Asishana B Okauru, noted that the governors will be receiving opening remarks and a briefing from the NGF chairman, governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, before the business of the day snowballs into a few presentations on the nation’s economy.
A statement by the director of media of the NGF, Abdulrazaque Bello Barkindo, said there would also be updates from States, Fiscal, Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SFTAS) that would cover programme implementation progress, sustainability activities, and upcoming reform deadlines.
He said, “The meeting which is virtual will also feature an update on the NG-CARES and SABER projects both anchored by the World Bank for a continuous propping of the states and the survival of the subnational population.
“In addition, at the teleconference meeting, there would be the adoption of the last NGF meeting.
“At the last NGF meeting, it was discussed that the Forum launched a Primary Health Care (PHC) Leadership Challenge – a flagship programme to revamp the Primary Health Care Under One Roof (PHCUOR) policy in the country by maximizing the commitment of state governors to PHCUOR, promoting a progressive increase in PHC funding, and ensuring all primary health care centres have the requisite human resource capacity”.
