I Briefed President On Happenings While He Was Away – Uzodimma

Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Hope Uzodimma, has said he briefed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on developments in the country during the President’s recent working leave.

Uzodimma disclosed this after meeting with Tinubu at his Lagos residence.

Recall that the Progressive Governors Forum recently clashed with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over the Rainbow Coalition being promoted ahead of the 2027 elections.

The disagreement followed the PGF’s position that its members would not support any political alliance or arrangement capable of weakening the APC or adversely affecting its candidates in the 2027 elections. Uzodimma had said the governors’ campaign commitment was exclusively to APC candidates.

Wike, however, maintained that the Rainbow Coalition was focused on supporting Tinubu’s re-election while allowing politicians to retain their party identities and support candidates in other contests.

On Sunday, Uzodimma said it was necessary to update the President on developments in the country while he was away.

“The President has just come back from a working leave. And while he was away, we were working in Nigeria. And it is only fair that he is briefed on the happenings in the country and an interim report given to him as to the issues on ground,” Uzodimma said.

“I came and briefed him. We had a very quality conversation, and he is now aware of the things that happened while he was away and the efforts of the Governors of the Progressive Forum in making sure that Nigerians are properly aware of the achievements of his government and the policies.”

The governor said the meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss the efforts of the Progressive Governors Forum in communicating the achievements and policies of the Tinubu administration to Nigerians.

Uzodimma said the governors had taken their cue from the President’s broadcast and were now focused on ensuring that Nigerians felt the impact of the reforms.

“The reform policy has moved from implementation to ensuring that the people of Nigeria get the dividends of the reform policy itself,” he said.

He said the governors would work to ensure that the benefits of the reforms reached ordinary Nigerians, citing the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative as an example.

According to him, transport operators should pass on the savings from the reduced cost of CNG to commuters through lower transportation fares.

“That way, it becomes a win-win situation,” he said.

Uzodimma also said the reforms had improved the finances of state governments, enabling them to pay salaries and execute development projects.

He recalled that when he became governor, it was difficult for the state government to have sufficient funds to run the state after paying salaries.

“Today, we pay salaries as we do and we have money to do all the achievements that we have recorded in the state. It is not only in my state. Every other state. Most of our governors are very active, with a lot of projects here and there,” he said.

The PGF chairman expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for the reforms, stressing that the governors were committed to ensuring that Nigerians, whom he described as the real beneficiaries of the policies, felt their impact.