Nigerian councilors, under the aegis of the National Councilors' Forum of Nigeria, have appointed Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, grand patron of the Forum.

The Forum, comprising the country's 8,809 serving councilors, said the appointment recognized the minister’s remarkable contributions to national development.

During the Forum’s meeting, it presented the letter of appointment to Bagudu, stating that the minister would be expected to play a crucial role in their efforts to promote good governance, transparency, and accountability at the grassroots level. They added that they hoped to work with him and benefit from his insights and expertise.

Accepting the appointment, the minister said he was humbled by the honour and that it would spur him to redouble his efforts to stimulate the grassroots economy for the benefit of the majority of the people.

He reiterated President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to elevating the people’s standard of living through extensive local governance reforms, which he said were embedded in the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme.

Bagudu explained that the programme seeks to stimulate economic activity at the ward level by mapping the dominant commercial endeavour in the 8,809 wards to identify those eligible for government support.

With about 10 million citizens expected to benefit from the initiative, he explained that the Bola Tinubu administration’s poverty-reduction objective would receive a significant boost.