The Progressive Governors Forum, PGF says it is finetuning plans to support the governorship and presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress,APC.
Acting Director General of PGF, Mr Folorunso Aluko, disclosed this Thursday in his opening remarks at the PGF Media and Communications Programme Steering Committee meeting with Commissioners of Information of APC States in Government House Lokoja.
The meeting was declared open by Deputy Governor Mr Edward Onoja who represented Governor Yahaya Bello.
In his opening remark, the Acting Director General of PGF, Mr Aluko said, “the 2023 General Elections are here already, this meeting will discuss and come up with some proposals in form of media strategies for supporting the Governorship and Presidential candidates of the APC in the 2023 Electioneering Campaigns. Our hope is that the APC will consolidate on its status, not only winning the presidency again, but also bringing more States into the Progressive Forum, at least 30 States.”
Mr Aluko, further disclosed that the PGF is also “being repositioned and re-envisioned”
He said: “The PGF is currently being repositioned and re-envisioned by developing new organisational vision to capture the objectives of setting the Secretariat up and repositioning it to support the Progressive Governors in to achieve a New and more prosperous Nigeria through developmental strides that meet the yearnings and expectations of the Nigerian people. The new vision of the PGF Secretariat’s Programme team is to make the secretariat a world class centre for professional innovation and practice, a platform for convergence of perspectives, that consistently and strategically support the Progressive Governors towards achieving Forum’s vision and by that, contribute its quota positively to the APC governments at all levels and democratic development in Nigeria.
“In our bid to reposition the Secretariat for effectiveness in service delivery, we have embarked on an ongoing reorganisation of the internal processes to refocus the organization and to rebrand it. The programmatic activities of the Secretariat are also being refocused and channelled towards our vision. This is part of why the LD&P and PGF e-bulletin, both new indicatives introduced to promote and popularize the achievements of the Progressive Governors. Many more new programmes are coming on board as we consolidate on the achievement of our new vision.
He noted further, “Your Excellency, this meeting is holding here in Lokoja Kogi State to take further the discussions on the implementation of the Legacy Documentation and Preservative (LD&P) programme which is aimed primarily to preserve the legacies of our Progressive Governors. It is also meant to ensure those legacies are made easily accessible globally for future references. We have developed an implementation strategy for the LD&P and this meeting would review it so we can start off full implementation as soon as possible.
“Your Excellency, we are also introducing the Progressive Governors Forum e-Bulletin aimed at collating and publishing the monthly activities of each Progressive Governor’s activities and initiatives online for the populace to get firsthand information about the performance of our Governors. This will help reduce misinformation and disinformation that has characterized the Nigerian media space.”
Meanwhile, he said, “the PGF has produced 2 prototype bills – one is a bill for “Social Media Crimes (Prohibition, prevention etc) Law 2022 and the second is a bill for a law to provide for the establishment of the States’ Livestock Management Agency for the purpose of Animal Identification, traceability, Registration and for other related matters thereto”. They are meant to address the menace of fake news, and other criminal acts using social media, while the Livestock management agency bill is expected to guide identification, traceability, registration, and other related matters related to livestock in Nigeria, to prevent clashes between farmers and herders which has been a recurring decimal in our nation. The Attorneys General of the APC States have worked with the PGF Secretariat in finalizing the draft Bills, while the next stage now is for the Secretaries to Governments of APC States to review it at their next meeting holding November 17, 2022.”
The acting DG, PGF also commended Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello for hosting the meeting even as he acknowledged the remarkable strides by the APC government
He said, “Your Excellency, we truly appreciate you and the Kogi State team for hosting this Strategy Meeting of PGF Media and Communications Programmes with Honourable Commissioners for Information of APC States. We want to thank you for the consistent support and cooperation we receive from you and team at the PGF.
“We had a pre-meeting visit to Kogi State last week and we went round Lokoja and some of the adjourning towns. We have seen the good works of Your Excellency, we are indeed proud of what you are doing in Kogi State, and we know that true Kogites are happy with Your Excellency and this administration. We saw the good road network, the flourishing SMEs, the happy people of Kogi State, the world class Reference Hospital and indeed, the Muhammadu Buhari Square- which is more beautiful than the Eagles square in Abuja, to mention a few.
“We make bold to say that, Governor Yahaya Bello is a Star Progressive Governor! He is a performing Governor.
He is an inspiration to all Progressives, home and abroad.
“I also want to use this opportunity to thank all the Honourable Commissioners here present. I specially appreciate my dear brother, Hon. Kingsley Fanwo, the Kogi State Commissioner of Information and your team from the Ministry of Information for your effort in putting things together for the success of this meeting.”
The team of Commissioners also embarked on a tour of the Reference Hospital in Okene where they witnessed the first class “global” facilities there. They also visited the Confluence University of Science and Technology. They later on Thursday hosted to a sumptuous dinner by HE Edward Onoja, the Deputy Governor of Kogi State.
His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello, represented by HE Edward Onoja, the Deputy Governor in declaring the meeting open appreciated the participants and declared ‘we have conquered insecurity in Kogi State’. He alluded to the determination of Gov. Bello to eradicate all forms of criminalities in the state, which has informed the many awards won by the Governor on security, with the latest one being presented by President Muhammadu Buhari.
He further said that upon assumption of office, education and health were the two major pillars of his development agenda this has crystallized into the establishment of the Confluence University of Science and Technology Osara.
The Governor concluded that Kogi State’s money is being spent on Kogi people and for Kogi Sate development.
Dignitaries at the opening ceremony included Secretary to Kogi State Government, Head of Service in the State as well as Commissioners including Hajia Fatima Kabir Buba- Commissioner for Women Affairs.
