NGF mulls commercial bank, payment of NNN staff’s salaries

The Northern Governors Forum (NGF’s) plan to establish the region’s commercial bank, will soon be resolved as soon as possible to ginger economic revival of the region.

The chairman of the Secretaries to Governments of the 19 Northern States, Alhaji Balarabe Abbas Lawal, stated this during a meeting with the NGF chairman, Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau state at the Government House in Jos.

This was contained in a statement issued, Monday, by Lalong’s director of press and public affairs, Dr. Makut Macham.

Secretary Lawal, who is also the Secretary to the Government of Kaduna State, said they were in Plateau to review some of the pending issues of the Northern Governors Forum, including reports that have been pending for many years.

He said: “The issue of a Commercial Bank with controlling shares from the region which has been on table for a long time despite financial commitments by some member states needs to be resolved as soon as possible to ginger economic revival of the region.”

According to Lawal, the secretaries will look at reports on security, economic development, education, health, investment, youth employment and others which are critical to the progress of the region.

He commended Governor Lalong for his proactive leadership style which has focused on key issues bothering the region.

The NGF chairman appreciated the support of the secretaries to the various Northern States for their service and sacrifices to the growth of the region.

Lalong said the Forum was looking forward to the outcome of the meeting which will form its agenda for the next meeting scheduled for the first quarter of this year.

“On the fortunes of the New Nigerian Newspapers, the governor disclosed that the federal government has finally approved the payment of all outstanding salaries of all the workers.

“This he said will enable a final decision to be taken on the future of one of the oldest newspapers in the country,” he said.

Lalong said they were aware of the myriads of challenges in the region.

“As governors of the region, we are well aware of the challenges we face related to security, economy, education, health, agriculture, employment and infrastructure among others. While we individually address these challenges within our various States, we also realise that working together will give us faster and better results.”

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