- Tinubu’s first Council of State meeting praised Nigerians for resisting unconstitutional attempts to change the government during protests
- Council members affirmed their support for President Tinubu through a vote of confidence
- NSA reassured commitment to defending Nigeria’s democratic principles, emphasised that any change in government should occur through the ballot rather than unconstitutional methods
President Bola Tinubu's first Council of State meeting on Tuesday, August 13, has highlighted the commendable efforts of Nigerians who resisted the unconstitutional attempt to change the government during the just concluded #EndBadGovernance protests.
The council members showed their trust in President Tinubu by passing a vote of confidence.
Dele Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals, disclosed this with State House Correspondents following the meeting.
NSA reported events of #Endbadgovernance protests
Alake stated that Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, updated the council on the timeline of the #Endbadgovernance nationwide protests, describing them as an attempt to change the regime, which was resisted by Nigerians forcibly.
Alake said, “Of course, at the end of it, matters of the state were discussed in a robust and frank manner, and the National Security Adviser was also on hand to present the security situation of the country.
“And he did inform the Council of State about the pre, during and post events of the last protests, which I do not call a protest. I call it a movement to effect a change of regime by force, which was also resisted.
He noted that the council expressed gratitude to Nigerians for opposing any unconstitutional efforts to change the government, stressing that those unhappy with the administration should wait for the elections to vote.
“And so, the council thanked Nigerians at large for resisting any unconstitutional move to change the government. If anybody is not satisfied with the government, any current administration, there is always an election coming, so you wait for the election and cast your vote.
“So, the NSA briefed the Council on the security situations, and allayed fears all round.
Nobody will be allowed to disrupt democracy - NSA
“After the NSA’s briefing, generally, he allayed everybody’s fears and spoke on the tightness of the security around the country, and also reassured all and sundry that nobody will be allowed to truncate our hard-earned democracy.
Alake conveyed that the NSA reassured that security agencies were committed to defending Nigeria’s territorial boundaries and democratic principles, emphasising that any change in government should occur through the ballot rather than unconstitutional methods.
“Any change of government has to be through the ballots and not through the barrel of the gun or through insurrection or through any other unconstitutional means; only through the ballot can any government be changed. And he reassured on the readiness of all security agencies to secure our territorial integrity and to protect Nigeria’s democracy.”
Former heads of state, governors, others were in attendance
“A lot of issues were exhaustively discussed at the meeting. And of course, you know that, apart from the former heads of state, the constitutional composition of the Council of State includes all governors, security advisers, attorney general and the rest. So, the governors were all in attendance as well.
Alake noted that seven ministers presented to the council, detailing the advancements, opportunities, and challenges within their ministries, with a focus on the Renewed Hope agenda’s push for economic diversification.
7 ministers made individual presentations to the council
“And some of us ministers were invited to make presentations on our road map on what we’ve been able to achieve, the prospects and the challenges in our various ministries. So, myself of the Solid Minerals, Coordinating Minister of the Economy and the finance minister, Mr Wale Edun, were also there to make presentations. The Minister of Budget was also there; he made his presentations. The Minister of works also made a presentation, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Doris was also there. The Minister of Agriculture was also invited.
“So, the seven of us ministers made individual presentations to the council of state meeting, and our presentations were well received from the feedback that we got immediately after individual presentations.”
Finance minister Edun highlighted economic progress under Tinubu
Wale Edun, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, stated that he highlighted positive economic progress under President Tinubu’s leadership, referencing data from the first half of 2023.
“Indeed, we had the opportunity and the privilege to present to the Council of State, and in particular the former presidents, who turned out in large number to participate, and we had the opportunity to, in my case, update them on the economy, and on the progress so far made in terms of the macroeconomic policies being followed under the leadership of President Tinubu.
“These policies are anchored on his eight priority areas and the results to date have been very encouraging.
He reported that the key takeaways were the economy's growth, surpluses in the balance of payments, trade balance, and current account balance; the stabilization of the exchange rate; and a slowing, though still high, inflation rate expected to decrease.
Additionally, he mentioned increased support from investors, especially in infrastructure, and growth opportunities in exports—reaching $55 billion last year—and in the service sector, such as software and accounting.
“We looked at the data, or we reported on the evidence and the data of this half year for which data was available, compared to the first quarter and the second quarter of 2023 and in broad terms, the economy is growing.
“The balance of payments, in particular, the trade balance and a current account balance are in surplus. The exchange rate is stabilising and inflation, though high, uncomfortably high for the liking of Mr president and his team, is slowing and it is set to fall.
“But in particular, there has been support for the economy from investors, foreign investors, by way of portfolio investors and 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 the opportunities for the economy once stabilised for investment and growth, and identified for the meeting was the fact that we have exports, goods and non-oil exports at $55 billion last year with tremendous room to grow.
“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.
“And on that basis, 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,” he further stated.
Council expressed confidence in Tinubu, passed a vote of trust
Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and Governor of Kwara State, revealed that the members unanimously expressed their confidence in President Tinubu following a productive discussion with him.
“The high note of the meeting was the unanimous passage of a vote of confidence on President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, Commander in Chief of the Nigerian armed forces.
“Members, especially those of the Nigerian governor’s forum, were satisfied with the presentations by the members of the Federal Executive Council, and after that meeting, there was an executive session between members of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and Mr President, and frank and fruitful discussions were held between both parties, and I’m glad to say we’re on the right track. And to say in the same vein that members of the NGF, like members of the Council of State, passed a vote of confidence on Mr President. We also wish him well and pray for God’s guidance on him. Thank you very much,” he stated.
#Endbadgovernance protests: Hunger protest is enough to impeach Tinubu, governors - Saliu Lukman
Meanwhile, TheRadar reported that the former vice-chairman of the ruling party in the northwest, Salihu Lukman attributed the economic inflation and hardship to Tinubu’s policies.
Salihu Lukman said the nationwide #Endbadgovernance protest is enough to impeach the President, adding that the grievances expressed could have potentially warranted the dismissal of some governors as well.