Northern traditional rulers and the Nigerian Bar Association on Wednesday decried the hardship in the country precipitated by the fuel subsidy removal which had resulted in higher transport costs and food inflation.

The traditional rulers and the NBA asked the Federal Government to quickly address the situation just as President Bola Tinubu will on Thursday (today) hold a closed-door meeting with state governors at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, to proffer solutions to the economic crisis in the country.

Two Presidency officials, who told the newsmen on Wednesday, stated that the meeting with the governors would be held before the President’s departure to Ethiopia for the African Union meeting.

Also, the Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, and an aide to Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State confirmed the planned meeting with the President.

The session is coming a few days after the governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party compared Nigeria’s economic situation to that of Venezuela, a South American country in the throes of hyperinflation, escalating starvation, disease, crime, and high mortality rates.

But the Presidency criticised the performance of the governors, pointing out their failure to pay salaries, pensions, and the N30,000 minimum wage.

Protests had broken out in different parts of the country in reaction to the high cost of living with citizens in Niger, Kano, Kogi, Ondo, and other states demanding solutions to the economic crisis.

The organised Labour had also complained about the situation in the country, threatening to go on strike by February 23 if the Federal Government failed to provide the palliatives and other assistance that could mitigate the economic pains on workers.

But echoing the dire economic situation again on Wednesday, the Chairman of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar lll, decried the deteriorating socio-economic conditions and the insecurity ravaging the country.

Addressing his colleagues at the sixth executive committee meeting of the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council with the theme: ‘Enhanced Security as a panacea for stability and development of the North,’ in Kaduna on Wednesday, Abubakar declared that with the current downturn of the economy which had inflicted untold hardships on Nigerians, all was not well with Nigeria, especially the north.

He lamented that the twin monsters confronting the nation at the moment were poverty and insecurity, which if not tackled urgently, could spell doom for Nigeria.

But he was quick to exonerate President Tinubu while noting that the sorry state of the nation was the continuation of the last administration of the All Progressives Congress under ex-president Muhammadu Buhari.

“To me, this government is a continuation of the former government; it is the same party. So, what really is the problem? I think that is one of the reasons we are here to talk to ourselves,” Abubakar said.

END.