The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum has called on President Bola Tinubu to reassess Nigeria’s macroeconomic and fiscal policies to ease the economic hardship caused by recent reforms introduced by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.

President Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the naira have led to a sharp rise in the cost of living. While acknowledging the reforms’ intent, the PDP governors believe that adjustments to these policies could improve the welfare and well-being of Nigerians.

These concerns formed part of the resolutions made during the forum’s meeting held in Jos, Plateau State. Speaking after the meeting, the chairman of the forum and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, expressed empathy for the struggles of ordinary Nigerians.

“The forum empathises with Nigerians who are groaning under the oppressive economic hardship imposed by the policies of the APC-led Federal Government,” he said. “We call on the President to urgently review both macroeconomic and fiscal policies to prioritise the welfare and well-being of the people.”

The governors reaffirmed their commitment to implementing initiatives in their states that would alleviate hardship and promote development.

“All PDP governors pledge to aggressively pursue policies and programmes that will reduce hardship while fostering progress and development in their respective states,” Mohammed added.

The forum also criticised the conduct of the recent governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states, describing them as a “rape of democracy.” The governors accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of manipulating results in favour of the APC candidates.

“In Edo, INEC clearly manipulated the results to favour the APC candidate, despite the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo, securing the majority of lawful votes,” said Mohammed. “We are also reviewing documents from the Ondo elections, where APC operatives openly bought votes and rigged the process.”

The governors urged the judiciary to uphold democracy in election petition cases and called on the National Assembly to strengthen electoral laws to prevent future manipulation.

“The judiciary must save Nigeria’s democracy, while the National Assembly must amend electoral laws to ensure the integrity of the electoral process,” the forum stated.

On internal party matters, the governors requested that the National Working Committee (NWC) convene a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting by the first week of February 2025. This, they said, would enable wide-ranging consultations with stakeholders to address the leadership crisis within the PDP.

Six governors attended the one-day meeting, including those from Bauchi, Zamfara, Taraba, Adamawa, Oyo, and Plateau states. Delta and Enugu states were represented by their deputy governors, while the governors of Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, and Osun were notably absent.