Nigerian governors under the umbrella of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to look into the issue of diversifying the economy as the dwindling price of oil will not allow the economy to grow.

It was reported that the governors said this during a two-day Internally Generated Revenue workshop organised by the NGF in Abuja which began on Monday, November 16.

Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano who represented the chairman of the forum, Governor Abdul’aziz Yari of Zamfara said the solution to the declining revenue that states in the country were facing was to diversify the economy.

He said: “Economic diversification is vital to ensuring the long-term economic growth we seek. We must ensure that we are competitive in the way we diversify our economy, and ensure that the private sector plays a stronger role going forward. This event should guide our states to share practical and effective experiences for boosting revenue generation and also provide strategies to kick-start the process.”

He said the governors needed “to do the right thing at the right time” so that the country could overcome economic challenges.

He noted that the event was coming at a time when governors were expected to fulfill their promises to the people. He urged attendees to see it as an avenue to bridge revenue gaps.

He added that the governors have agreed to adopt the result of the summit as a plan to generate revenue internally.

“We will also expect periodic briefings from our secretariat on the status of these plans and how our states have been able to implement them.”

Two days ago, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos advised the country to pay more attention to the non-oil sectors of the economy due to the dwindling revenue from oil.