Shettima to Govs: Improve citizens’ lives rather than rhetorics

Says measure of govt not in speeches delivered, but in lives improved

Emeka Agu with agency reports

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has called on state governments to translate the optimism of the streets into real prosperity in homes and communities.

Shettima made the call during the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting attended by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The vice-president, who is the Chairman of NEC reminded state Governors that the measure of governance lies in the tangible improvement of citizens’ lives rather than rhetoric.

“The measure of government is not in speeches delivered; it is in the lives improved,” the vice-president said.

Shettima reiterated President Bola Tinubu administration’s shift from reactive crisis management to proactive planning.

He commended the Katsina Sustainable Platform for Agriculture (KASPA), a state-driven digital agriculture model designed to modernise service delivery and improve farmers’ access to data, markets, and climate information.

“Earlier this week, at the invitation of His Excellency, Gov. Dikko Radda of Katsina, I was in the state.

” One of the progressive projects we launched is the Katsina Sustainable Platform for Agriculture, known as KASPA.

” It is a scalable framework for digital governance, farmer inclusion, and climate-smart productivity ready for sub-national adoption,” the vice-president said.

The platform, he said, reflected the council’s broader commitment to technology-enabled governance and inclusive agricultural growth that cuts across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“The story of Nigeria’s recovery will not be written by chance but by choice—by the deliberate actions we take to protect our economy, safeguard our environment, and uphold the welfare of our citizens,” he said.

Shettima commended governors, Ministers, and the members of the council for sustaining NEC as a platform of trust, cooperation, and policy innovation.

Meanwhile, the National Economic Council (NEC) has raised alarm over the large-scale illegal mining and theft of Nigeria’s solid minerals, including gold, warning that the proceeds are being siphoned without remittance to the national treasury.

In response, the Council extended the mandate of the Committee on Crude Oil Theft and Pipeline Vandalisation, chaired by Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Senator Hope Uzodimma, to also investigate illegal mining in the solid minerals sector.

Briefing State House correspondents after the NEC meeting presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Governor Uzodimma said the extension followed the presentation of his committee’s report on crude oil theft.

He explained that NEC’s decision reflects growing concern about revenue leakages from the unregulated exploitation of mineral resources.

“Our solid minerals are being mined and stolen without contributing to national revenue,” Uzodimma said.

“NEC has now directed our committee to work with relevant agencies to ensure that the country’s solid minerals — such as gold and other valuable resources — are properly accounted for.”

The governor noted that NEC’s directive underscores the Council’s determination to secure national assets and improve revenue inflow from extractive industries.

He also reported that Nigeria’s daily crude oil production had increased significantly from pre-2023 levels of about 700,000–800,000 barrels per day to over 1.7 million barrels per day, attributing the improvement to a collaborative security framework involving regulators, operators, state governors, and the military.

“This success was achieved through an enhanced partnership between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Navy, and security agencies, alongside strong community engagement,” he said.

Uzodimma added that the expanded inter-ministerial committee will now focus on both oil and solid minerals, coordinating with other government bodies to close gaps in monitoring, licensing, and revenue collection.

On security in offshore and creek areas, he emphasised the need to strengthen surveillance across export corridors to deter illegal entries and protect production infrastructure.

When asked to disclose the new terms of reference and timeline for submitting the expanded report, the governor said the committee would determine its operational framework in due course.

“It is the same concern about illegal mining and the theft of our solid minerals without proper documentation or contribution to national revenue that informed NEC’s decision today,” he explained. “We will explore all avenues to address the situation and ensure accountability.”

Also, the National Economic Council (NEC) on Thursday approved the composition of a committee to conduct an on the spot assessment of the condition of all security training institutions nationwide.

Gov. Uba Sani of Kaduna State made this known at a news conference at the end of the 153rd NEC meeting attended by President Bola Tinubu and chaired by the Vice-President Kashim Shettima, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Sani explained that the aim of the assessment is to overhaul, revamp, renovate and equip all the security training institutions across the country.

“The National Economic Council (NEC) approved President Bola Tinubu’s proposal for the composition of the committee to oversee the overhauling and revamping of training institutions for security agencies nationwide.

“Mr President’s proposal followed a very robust presentation by the Minister of Budget and Economy Planning, Sen. Abubakar Bagudu, on the realisation of President Tinubu’s vision for a one trillion dollar economy.

“It also highlighted the necessity of investing more in security by the three tiers of government. And of course, Mr President raised serious concern about the condition generally of all the training institutions of the Nigerian police across the country.

According to Sani, all the governors at the meeting agreed that it is high time for all of us to collaborate with the Federal Government to address this very crisis.

“We believe if we want to raise the morale of the police nationwide, we have to invest in their training institutions, which are highly dilapidated across the country.”

The governor named Gov. Peter Mba of Enugu as the Chairman of the Committee, while former Inspector General of Police, Alkali Usman Baba was made the Secretary of the committee.

He listed other members of the committee to include governors of Kaduna, Taraba, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Zamfara and Nasarawa states.

The governor said that the committee was given one month to go around and conduct an on the spot assessment of the situation and the condition of all the training institutions across the country.

This, according to him, is with a view to come up with a comprehensive report on how the Federal and State Government will collaborate in addressing the issue.

“All the governors again unanimously agree to partner with the federal government in rehabilitating, renovating all the police training institutions in their respective states.”

Uba also said that NEC looked at other sister agencies, and the committee was also charged with the responsibility to  look at their training institutions to come up with a report on how the facilities will be equipped and renovated.

He said Mr President also urged the state governors to pay more attention to issues that affect the well-being of the people, particularly at the grassroot.