The North-Central Development Agenda (N-CDA) has passed a vote of confidence on President Bola Tinubu and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume.
The group also called for the creation of the North-Central Development Commission to ensure parity with other geopolitical regions.
It expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for appointing Senator Akume as the SGF, describing it as a well-deserved appointment.
Led by Ademu Musa Adams, the group, in a statement on Wednesday, commended President Tinubu’s leadership direction, acknowledging the reforms being implemented to turn the economy around despite the initial pains.
Adams acknowledged the working partnership between President Tinubu and Senator Akume, highlighting their shared commitment to democracy and good governance.
The group also called on state governors to utilize the post-subsidy removal funds judiciously to make life bearable for ordinary Nigerians.
Adams welcomed the initiative by President Tinubu to involve state governors in measures to cushion the effects of post-subsidy removal.
“The reforms being pushed through the Nigerian economy by President Tinubu may indeed be painful at this material moment, but it remains our unwavering faith that the fruits will soon begin to bear on the tree of our nationhood,” the statement said.
“As Mr President has said several times, the measures he took were inevitable, with the country’s economy having been subjected to injurious decay through one successive administration to another before his coming, and it was a matter of courage to take those steps he has taken to begin to turn things around.
“The process, no doubt, has brought pains and untold hardship upon Nigerians, including us and our families, but we acknowledge the fact that there could have been no other way around the situation, with the removal of subsidies on petroleum products top on the list of those necessary turn-around measures.
“At this stage, we add our voice to the call on state governors to judiciously utilize the huge post-subsidy removal funds, which the Tinubu Presidency is making available to them, to make life bearable for ordinary Nigerians in their various states.
“The initiative by Mr President to centrally involve state governors in the measures to cushion the effects of post-subsidy removal on Nigerians is most welcome and, if properly managed, should serve to anchor the federal government-driven public welfare schemes, which are targeting, in a deliberate and direct manner, to reach ordinary Nigerians through cash transfers and student loans, among other measures.”
Adams noted that the region remains the most peaceful in the country and that the creation of a Development Commission will bring out the strengths of its people and consolidate its role as the fulcrum of the Nigerian Federation.
THE GUARDIAN
