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Class of 99: Create cottage industries, not N5,000 palliative – Former Govs tell Tinubu
The Class of 1999 governors have advised President Bola Tinubu to create cottage industries in all the local government areas of the federation to create jobs for the people, rather than give N5,000 palliatives that can barely sustain the poor.
The Ex-Governors gave the advice after a closed-door meeting with the President on Friday at the villa in Abuja.
They also called on the President to address security challenges in the country as one of the ways of ensuring development in Nigeria.
It was reports that the Class of ’99 governors are colleagues of President Tinubu, who served from 1999 to 2007, when he was the governor of Lagos State.
Speaking, chairman of the Class of ’99 governors and former governor of Edo State, Lucky Igbinedion, pointed out that people in rural areas were bearing the brunt of the harsh economic situation in the country, advising the President to intervene.
While assessing Tinubu’s efforts and what they wanted him to specifically do, Igbinedion said the first and foremost thing is security, stressing that without security, there could be no progress and stability.
“And secondly, the economy, of course, needs to be stabilised by ensuring the foreign exchange remains stable and people can afford it. But what is most important is: let’s create industries, especially cottage industries, that can employ people, rather than just giving out palliatives.
“We implored him to try as much as possible to create cottage industries in all the local governments of the federation where people can be employed, because if you give palliative to somebody today, what happens tomorrow? If he has N5,000 in the morning, how about lunchtime or dinner time? What is he going to do?
“N5,000 cannot buy much. So I thought these were part of the really heart-to-heart discussions we had with the President, and he agreed with us to say, yes, he’s going to look into it, and we appreciated it,” he added.
Weighing in on the reason for their Abuja visit, Igbinedion also said, “We came to see one of our own, Class of ’99, and to bring about topics about the state of the nation. We are glad that Mr President received us warmly, and we spoke basically about the security situation of the nation, the economy, and, of course, agriculture. The President expressed his concern about these various issues that we came to discuss with him.
“And we also proffered our solutions about how he can go about bringing about succour to the people. The people, especially in the rural areas, are feeling the impact of the harsh economy, and he assured us that he is looking into it.
“We also spoke about the stability of the naira, which he also addressed appropriately. So it has been a very fruitful deliberation with Mr. President. And of course, he assured us that whatever suggestions or way forward that we might have, his doors are always open for such conversation.”
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Major filling stations across Nigeria have increased the pump price of premium motor spirit, popularly called petrol.
It was reports that this is coming after the upwards adjustment of ex-depot prices by Dangote Refinery and depot owners.
It was gathered that Empire Energy and Ranoil filling stations in Abuja increased their pump price to ₦935 and ₦970 per litre, respectively, as of Saturday morning from ₦905 and ₦900 on Friday night.
Speaking to Daily Post, spokesman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike said the latest petrol price hike was due to an ex-depot price increase by Dangote Refinery and depot owners in Nigeria.
Ukadike said: “The supplying depots and Dangote Refinery have increased their ex-depot petrol prices.
“As of Friday pricing, Dangote Refinery’s ex-depot price is ₦858 per litre, up from ₦820. Depot owners also increased prices like NIPCO (₦870), Aiteo (₦855) and Ranoil (₦855).”
According to him, the increase in ex-depot price is due to the exchange rate and the price of crude oil in the global oil market.
Meanwhile, Nigerian National Petroleum Company and MRS, Optima, and AP Ardova filling stations still dispense petrol at ₦890 and ₦885 per litre, respectively, in Abuja as of the time of filing this report.
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According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), there was an increase in the average prices of cooking gas and kerosene across Nigeria in June 2025.
It was reports that the NBS revealed this in its “Cooking Gas Price Watch” report for June 2025, released on Thursday in Abuja.
The report disclosed that the average price of 5kg of cooking gas rose by 1.92 per cent to ₦8,323.95, up from ₦8,167.43 in May.
On a year-on-year basis, this marks a 19.49 per cent increase from ₦6,966.03 in June 2024.
Delta State recorded the highest average price at ₦9,243.38, while Oyo had the lowest at ₦7,100.00.
“Regionally, the South-South zone had the highest average price at ₦8,871.63, and the South-West the lowest at ₦7,960.42,” the report revealed.
Similarly, the average price of 12.5 kg of cooking gas increased by 1.46 per cent to ₦21,010.56 in June, compared to ₦20,709.11 in May.
This represents a 33.52 per cent year-on-year rise from ₦15,736.27 in June 2024.
Delta, Cross River, and Rivers recorded the highest prices, while Yobe, Niger, and Jigawa recorded the lowest.
Kerosene Price Watch
In its Kerosene Price Watch for June 2025, the NBS said the average price per litre of kerosene rose to ₦2,192.63, a 0.80 per cent increase from ₦2,175.29 in May.
“Year-on-year, the price increased by 41.00 per cent from ₦1,555.11 in June 2024. Kaduna recorded the highest average at ₦2,681.58, while Abia had the lowest at ₦1,659.35.
“The average price per gallon of kerosene climbed by 2.38 per cent to ₦8,684.15 in June, from ₦8,482.22 in May, and by 52.39 per cent compared to ₦5,698.68 in June 2024,” the NBS stated.
The report said Edo recorded the highest price per gallon at ₦10,321.63, while Abia had the lowest at ₦6,737.40.
“Zone-wide, the South-South consistently reported the highest average prices across all petroleum products, while the South-West recorded the lowest,” the NBS said.
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Nigerians continue to grapple with high food prices as staple items such as rice, beans, spaghetti, onions, oil, and tomatoes remain expensive in local markets.
Recent market checks by Naija News reveal that despite ongoing harvest seasons, prices have yet to experience significant relief for consumers.
Rice Hits ₦64,000 Per Bag
A 50kg bag of rice now sells for ₦64,000, marking one of the highest costs for the staple food in recent months. This surge is attributed to factors including high transportation costs, import levies, and currency depreciation, which continue to affect supply chains.
Beans At ₦4,800 Per Bowl
Protein-rich beans also remain costly, with a bowl now selling for ₦4,800. Traders note that, despite improved harvests in some northern states, insecurity in farming regions and high logistics costs are keeping prices elevated.
Spaghetti And Other Essentials
The price of Golden Penny Spaghetti has risen sharply, with a carton now going for ₦19,000. Similarly, a bowl of onions sells for ₦4,000, while 1 litre of groundnut oil costs ₦3,700, reflecting continued pressure on edible oil markets due to high processing and import costs.
Vegetable Prices: Tomatoes And Pepper
Tomato prices have seen only minimal relief. A small basket currently sells for ₦3,500, while pepper prices remain steep at ₦9,000, creating further challenges for households that rely on these essentials for daily cooking.
Garri, a staple cassava-based food consumed nationwide, is also affected. A paint bucket currently sells for ₦1,600, a price point many traders attribute to increased production and processing costs.
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