Council of State expresses confidence in Tinubu’s Administration

–Commends Nigerians for resisting change of government through protest

Kunle Sanni

The Council of State, comprising former Presidents, Heads of State, and state governors, Tuesday, expressed strong support for President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

This endorsement was announced by the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, during a press briefing following the Council’s meeting.

Western Post Online reported earlier that President Tinubu had presided over the council meeting held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The meeting held at Council Chambers had in attendance of the 36 state governors, led by the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State; the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume; Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and others.

Detailing the outcome of the discussions, Alake said, the council members praised Nigerians for resisting attempts to undermine the democratic process during the recently held #Endbadgovernance demonstrated by civil society groups.

Referring to what he described as a push for an unconstitutional change of government, Alake also emphasized that the Council unanimously agreed that any change in government should occur through democratic elections.

He also disclosed that the Council urged all citizens and leaders to ensure that governance transitions remain peaceful and are decided by the ballot box, not force.

Speaking further, the minister said members called for the protection of democracy in Nigeria.

On security matters in the country, Alake said Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser also presented the security situation of the country.

He said Ribadu “did inform the Council of State about the pre, during and post event of the last protests, which I do not call a protest. I call a movement to effect a change of regime by force, which was also resisted.

Governors pass vote of confidence

Governor AbdulRazaq mentioned that the governors had a private discussion with the President and concluded by expressing their confidence in President Tinubu’s administration.

Additionally, the Minister of Finance briefed the State House reporters about the meeting’s outcomes. He highlighted that the invited ministers presented data to the Council of State, comparing the first half of the year with the second quarter of 2023.

He emphasized that the country’s economy is experiencing growth and that the exchange rate is showing signs of stabilization.

Furthermore, the Minister noted the positive support in the economy from investors engaged in public-private partnerships.

“But in particular, there has been support for the economy from investors, foreign investors, by way of portfolio investors, domestic investors, who are participating in important private public partnerships, particularly infrastructure sector and foreign direct investment, is beginning to recover, I would say so.

“On that basis, we reported on, in particular, the opportunities for the economy once stabilized for investment and growth, and identified for the meeting was the fact that we have exports, goods exports, non-oil exports at $55 billion last year with tremendous room to grow.

“And in particular, we identified that the service sector that is, software services, computer services, accounting services, personnel services, which can be provided by young Nigerians staying in Nigeria and providing services through the internet and through telephones, outsourcing in a world was a big area we emphasized.

“So in a nutshell, we reported that there was good progress being made that the effort was going to continue to ensure that the interventions and measures to ameliorate the high cost of living for individuals, for the agricultural sector, for industry, for small scale businesses, were going to continue to be implemented with all efforts needed for success.

“And on that basis, we we reported an optimistic outlook for the Nigerian economy and the Nigerian society in general, as a result of prospects for economic growth and economic progress,” the Minister stated.