In what sounded like regret for supporting the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Monday, feared that the country is sliding economically the same way Venezuela did.
They restated their position on state policing, as the solution to the country’s worsening security situation.
“We supported the removal of subsidy, we thought there were safeguards; we believe that if we took collective decision 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,” their chair of their forum, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State said.
They decried the free fall of the naira and its attendant consequences, and asked that the Federal Government’s economic team should find appropriate solutions to the challenge.
Mohammed of Bauchi State briefed journalists after a meeting of the opposition governors in Abuja.
He decried the high cost of living in the country, and the value of the naira, saying, “We are almost on the road to Venezuela”, a country facing extreme economic and security hardship.
He said, “The meeting reviewed the state of the nation and noted the hardship being faced by Nigerians as a result of economic and security challenges facing the nation.
“The Forum consequently urges the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, embark on initiatives involving all the subnational governments to bring a lasting solution to the crisis.
“We reiterate our call for the 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.
“We have been partnering even as opposition to make sure that we don’t bring any distraction but certainly the monetary policies and the economic policies rest here and we know the majority of Nigerians live in the state and so we are doing so much across party lines on a bi-personal basis within the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and with the National Economic Council to make sure that we cushion the effect of some of these policies that have far-reaching consequences on our people.
