By MUHAMMAD KABIR, Kano

The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) is to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari to push for a reduction in the recent increases in fuel and electricity.

Governor Muhammadu Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State, who spoke to newsmen on Tuesday, said that the governors are highly disturbed over the uproar that has trailed the increases, which were done last week.

‘”We are soon going to meet with President Buhari over the fuel pump price and power tariff increase and God willing something good will come out from the meeting.”

“I don’t want to pre-empt our proposed meeting with President Buhari over this issue, but I’m assuring you that we are going to mediate for the benefit of Nigerians,” he added.

Speaking on the controversial Sule Lamido University crisis, Governor Badaru, cleared the air saying that both the state and local governments could not finance the institution with the two per cent agreed monthly stipend, because they are also bankrupt.

Similarly, Badaru said the university was built for N7 billion by the previous government but only N2 billion was paid to contractors leaving the state heavily indebted.

“I have paid the remaining N5 billion to the contractors and this is why numerous projects are still being executed at the university,” he said.

Governor Badaru in the same vein expressed deep shock over the death of 20 persons and the destruction of over 50,000 Houses in the state following recent flooding.

The governor, who called on the Federal Government to come to the aide of the state, is worried that Jigawa is still facing threats from the flooding.

Badaru said that annual flood affected 17 out of the 27 local government areas of the state throwing the lives of the communities into chaos, added that the death involved mostly children as a result of building collapses.

His words: “The annual flood has destroyed about 50,000 houses while farmlands were submerged; crops, include maize, millet, guinea corn and rice, have perished in most of the LGA’s of the state as a result of a heavy downpour that occurred last week.” (New Telegraph)

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