Follow Us on Google
• Says CNG savings must translate to lower transport fares
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, has said governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are shifting their focus from explaining President Bola Tinubu’s reforms to ensuring that Nigerians directly feel their benefits.
Uzodimma stated this after briefing President Tinubu on developments in the country at the President’s Lagos residence as he continues his working leave, saying the meeting provided an opportunity to update him on developments and the efforts of the Progressive Governors in communicating the administration’s achievements and policies.
He said the governors had taken their cue from the President’s recent national broadcast and were now focused on translating the reforms into tangible benefits for Nigerians.
“The reform policy has moved from implementation to ensuring that the people of Nigeria get the dividends of the reform policy itself,” Uzodimma said.
The PGF chairman specifically cited the impact of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) on transportation, saying the savings achieved through cheaper fuel should be passed on to commuters through reduced fares.
He urged transport operators to adjust their fares in line with the reduction in their operating costs.
“The transporters and commuters should also be responsible in ensuring that since the cost of transportation has been reduced by the introduction of CNG, that they should now also reduce the fare they charge passengers. That way, it becomes a win-win situation,” he said.
Uzodimma said the governors would no longer be content with merely highlighting the reforms, but would work to ensure that their impact was felt by ordinary Nigerians.
“So we are not going to only sit here and sing the songs of reform. We are going to make sure that the benefits…that the real beneficiaries of the reform policy are the people,” he said.
He said the governors were also preparing to intensify their campaign to Nigerians on the administration’s policies and achievements following Tinubu’s return from his working leave.
According to him, the meeting with the President was “a quality conversation” during which he briefed Tinubu on developments while he was away.
Uzodimma also linked the reforms to the improved financial position of Imo State, recalling that when he assumed office in 2021, the state struggled to meet its obligations after paying salaries.
“In 2021, I became the Governor without President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his reform policies. It was difficult at the end of every month after paying salaries. That is, if we managed to pay salaries, to have money to run the state,” he said.
He added that the situation had changed, saying:
“Today, we pay salaries as we do and we have money to do all the achievements that we have recorded in the state.”
The PGF chairman said the governors were now “charged again” to ensure that the people became the real beneficiaries of the reforms.
“That the masses will feel the impact. That these policies, the dividends, should be impactful. That way, people will understand the song and chorus it,” Uzodimma said.
