The Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), yesterday, declared support for the use N2 trillion Nigeria Infrastructure Investment Fund to stimulate the economy.

NGF also advocated revitalization of the nation’s mortgage bank to support the government’s ambitious housing programme.

The governors made these positions known in a communiqué issued by the Governor of Ekiti State and Chairman of NGF, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, at the end of the forum’s 12th COVID-19 teleconference.

According to the statement, the governors also resolved to collaborate with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) for implementation of the five percent user charge on pump price of petrol and the international vehicle transit charge to better fund road projects in the country.

The NGF agreed to collaborate with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to support implementation of the National Gas Expansion Programme through a state-wide adoption of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), easing gas pipeline right of way applications, and encouraging the micro stove assembly for small businesses, including facilitating training for gas operators.

The governors promised that given the rise in community spread of coronavirus cases, with mild or no symptom, they would ramp up testing to curb the spread, especially amongst those with preexisting conditions and the elderly.

Fayemi said that Oliver Stolpe, Country Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Nigeria and Dr. Yemi Kale, Statistician General, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) presented findings of the second corruption survey in Nigeria, which showed that cases of bribery have decreased since 2016 when the survey was first conducted, from 32.3 percent to 30.2 per cent.