A former Edo State governor, Lucky Igbinedion, on Friday said the class of 1999 governors have urged President Bola Tinubu to prioritise rural security and launch cottage industries nationwide.
They argued that palliatives alone cannot ease Nigeria’s economic pain.
“We also proffered our own solutions about how he can bring succour to the people, especially in the rural areas,” Igbinedion told reporters after the closed‑door talks with Tinubu at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Tinubu, who served as Lagos governor from 1999 to 2007, hosted 13 of his peers, who were elected at the dawn of the fourth republic in 1999.
It is their second collective visit since he took office in 2023; their first was on July 12, 2023, shortly after his inauguration.
Igbinedion, who led the delegation to the Villa, said, “We came to see one of our own, the class of ’99, and to bring up topics about the state of the nation. We spoke about security, the economy and agriculture.
“The first and foremost thing is security, because we told him that without security there can be no progress, no stability.
“Secondly, the economy needs to be stabilised by ensuring the foreign exchange remains stable and people can afford [basic goods].”
He added that the delegation urged Tinubu to pivot from short‑term cash transfers to job‑creating manufacturing hubs.
“We employed on him to try as much as possible to create cottage industries in all the local governments of the Federation where people can be employed, because if you give palliative to somebody today, what happens tomorrow?
“If he has 5000 in the morning, how about lunchtime or dinner time? What is he going to do? N5000 cannot buy much.
“So I thought these are part of the really Heart to Heart discussions we had with the President, and he agreed with us to say, yes, he’s going to look into it, and we appreciated, or we have come to tell him, thank you,” he explained.
The “class of ’99” comprises the 36 civilian governors inaugurated on May 29, 1999, ending 16 years of military rule.
Many went on to national prominence: Tinubu is now President; Abdullahi Adamu became APC national chairman; Ahmed Makarfi chaired the PDP, George Akume who served as Minister of Special Duties under the Buhari administration and is now Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
