During a meeting with governors on Thursday, organized by the National Economic Council (NEC), President Bola Tinubu informed them of the increasing disparity in the distribution of resources and urged them to permit resources to reach the lowest levels of society.
He continued by lecturing them on the importance of letting the enormous resources they receive trickle down to state and local residents.
Vice President Kashim Shettima chairs the NEC, but Tinubu also gave them advice on a variety of governance-related matters.
“We just concluded the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting with Mr. President, Bola Tinubu in attendance, and the meeting presented an opportunity for him to brief the governors on the need for the national government and sub-national government to work together for the overall interest of our people and country, Nigeria,” said Hope Uzodimma, the governor of Imo State, who described the events of the meeting.
“We recognized his achievements in generating money and the outcomes already documented as a consequence of his administration’s numerous reform initiatives.
Both the national government and the subnational governments are now making more money.
“The president devised a plan that will expedite the process of this increased funding, ensuring that it reaches the grassroots and has a greater impact on Nigerians.
They brought a program to boost economic activity at the ward level as a result. Details can be provided later by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, who serves as the program’s secretariat.
At the same time, the president recognized the difficulties associated with environmental impact assessments of his legacy projects, especially the Lagos-Calabar coastal road and the Sokoto-Badagry road, and he pushed for the establishment of a committee to facilitate cooperation between the national and sub-national governments in order to expedite the realization of this project.
In order to ensure that subnational governments and the Surveyor General of the Federation are in agreement for the benefit of Nigeria, a committee would be established.
In actuality, the President’s briefing today served as a spur to boost our spirits and inspire our employees to work hard and take necessary action.
For us, the governors, Mr. President has done a great job, and his administration’s reform initiatives are starting to pay off. He has placed a strong emphasis on having a direct influence on Nigerians, from the lowest levels of government to the average citizen.
“The Bola Tinubu Renewed Hope Agenda is working at the next stage of the program, and we want to feel it at our level.” and we want the grassroots level to feel it as well. That, I believe, covers the two main topics of today’s National Economic Council meeting.
Governments and Tinubu Launch the Renewed Hope Ward Development Program
In the meantime, President Bola Tinubu announced the “Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme,” a special intervention program, on Thursday and urged state governors to become involved in order to advance the policy at the local level.
This was said by Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, in an interview with State House reporters.
According to him, the president gave the governors present at the National Economic Council meeting the task of identifying at least 1000 Nigerians who could use financial assistance to launch their own businesses.
“Mr. President attended the NEC meeting today and commended the state governors for their cooperation with him and the Federal Government,” Bagudu told reporters.
The unveiling of the Renewed Hope Ward Development Program document, a plan to assist the administration’s macroeconomic changes, was another historic move that Mr. President saw today.
“The next step is to drill down development to the lowest levels after stabilizing the macro economy. This will allow us to stimulate economic activity in each of the 8,809 wards across the nation, which we believe will increase food security, create jobs, lower poverty, and even improve social protection.”
Our constitution is in accordance with this. The federal, state, and local governments are required by Chapter Two of our Constitution to utilize the nation’s resources in order to foster national prosperity and an effective, dynamic, and self-sufficient economy. Cooperation is the only way to accomplish this.
As a strong supporter of federalism, Mr. President today introduced the Renewed Hope Ward-based Development Program, which is a partnership between the federal, state, and local governments. It is a federation project that will be financed by the increased funds coming into the Federation Account and other initiatives that the federal government and states are working on.
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In order to increase economic activity in every ward of the federation, it is equally important to identify at least 1000 economically active individuals in each ward who will receive support. As we work toward a $1 trillion economy, the goal is to take advantage of this special aspect of our economy to produce double-digit growth in the majority of the wards. In addition to identifying the economically active individuals in each ward and designating the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning as the program’s secretariat, it was decided that the NEC should adopt a resolution supporting and promoting the Renewed Hope Ward Development Program as a joint effort between the federal, state, and local governments.
It is noteworthy that the International Monetary Fund specifically encouraged us along this path in its most recent report about Nigeria in the 2025 article four consultation, stating that the President’s audacious reforms have improved stability and enhanced resilience, liberalizing and strengthening the poor, the function of the foreign exchange market, eliminating foreign exchange subsidies, strengthening revenue administration, and increasing hydrocarbon production.
“The National Economic Council graciously approved the program today because Mr. President has always believed that in order to reduce poverty and food insecurity, we must invest collaboratively with the federal and state in the creative energy of Nigerians and the geographical wards.” This is in line with the macroeconomic successes that have been achieved.
