President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday presided over the meeting of the National Council of States.
The meeting, held at the Council Chamber of the State House in Abuja, had former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari in attendance.
VIDEO: Jonathan, Buhari attend first council of state meeting under Tinubu pic.twitter.com/1v7Qd6BxqE
— TheCable (@thecableng) August 13, 2024
Former Heads of State, Generals Yakubu Gowon and Abdulsalami Abubakar participated virtually.
Also in attendance are the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akpabio; and the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Governors Saminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, Prof. Babagana Zulum of Borno State, Engr. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, Uba Sani of Kaduna State, Nasir Idris of Kebbi State, Usman Ododo of Kogi State, Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Abba Yusuf of Kano State, Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo state, Kefas Agbu of Taraba State, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, Peter Mbah of Enugu State, Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq of Kwara State and Umar Namadi of Jigawa State are among the governors present as of the time the meeting started.
Governors Alex Otti of Abia State, Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State, and Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State participated virtually, while Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, attended in person.
Former Chief Justices Alfa Belgore and Mahmud Muhammed were also present.
Other attendees included National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi, and Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, among others.
This marks the first meeting of the National Council of States since President Tinubu took office in May 2023.
The meeting follows the EndBadGovernance protest, where many Nigerians took to the streets to demand improved governance amidst economic challenges caused by subsidy removal and high living costs.
The National Council of States plays a crucial role in advising the Executive branch on policy matters and providing consent.