Governors, justify the windfall

Service delivery in many of Nigeria’s 36 states remains dismal despite the steady inflow of huge resources through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). Month after month, states and local governments receive billions of naira from oil sales, Value Added Tax (VAT), and other federal revenues. Yet, for millions of Nigerians, life has only grown […]

Service delivery in many of Nigeria’s 36 states remains dismal despite the steady inflow of huge resources through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). Month after month, states and local governments receive billions of naira from oil sales, Value Added Tax (VAT), and other federal revenues. Yet, for millions of Nigerians, life has only grown harder.

Beyond FAAC disbursements, most states also generate local revenues through taxes, levies and fees. Still, the visible impact of such funds on the lives of ordinary citizens is minimal. In too many states, poverty, unemployment, hunger and insecurity are not only rampant but worsening.

When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu withdrew subsidies on petroleum products in mid-2023, state governors were among the earliest to applaud the move. They argued that the savings from subsidy removal would free up funds for critical development projects, including roads, schools, hospitals and social infrastructure for transportation, diversification of agriculture, among others, that would in turn, improve living standards. Nigerians were told to bear the pain temporarily, with the assurance that relief and prosperity were on the horizon.

Two years on, apart from noticeable transformation in a few states, that promise rings hollow. Far from improving, the quality of life for most Nigerians has deteriorated. 

The World Bank recently expressed concern that despite Nigeria’s recent economic stabilisation efforts, about 139 million citizens are now living in poverty, warning that the country risks losing reform gains if they fail to translate into tangible improvements in the lives of its citizens.

The bank’s Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, gave the warning in Abuja at the launch of the October 2025 Nigeria Development Update titled, ‘From Policy to People: Bringing the Reform Gains Home.’

He cautioned that macroeconomic improvements are yet to translate into improved living conditions for ordinary Nigerians.

“Despite these stabilisation gains, many households are still struggling with eroded purchasing power. Poverty, which began to rise in 2019 due to policy missteps and external shocks such as COVID-19, has continued to increase even after the reforms…”

The new figure indicates a sharp increase from 129 million recorded in April 2025 and 87 million in 2023, reflecting the deepening hardship among households.

Malnutrition, especially in the North, is on the rise. Hospitals, once sanctuaries for healing, are becoming death traps due to lack of equipment, poor funding and the flight of medical professionals. Public schools, the responsibility of state and local governments have become breeding grounds for half-educated graduates. Roads have turned into craters of death. Many farmlands have been abandoned as bandits and kidnappers roam freely.

State assemblies, which should serve as watchdogs over executive excesses, have largely become appendages of governors’ offices.

Accountability over budget implementation is now a rare concept. Revenues collected locally often vanish without trace, while projects, when they exist at all, are grossly inflated or abandoned and in many cases, not what will improve the living conditions of the people.

Governors meet regularly under various forums like regional, political and national, yet, these meetings seldom translate into coordinated action. The idea of collective responsibility has withered. The peer review mechanism, once championed to promote healthy competition among states, has died a quiet death. Too many governors govern without blueprints, direction or measurable goals.

Nigeria cannot continue like this. Our leaders must wake up to the gravity of the moment. The governors and local government chairmen, as custodians of grassroots governance, must rise to liberate their people from the chains of poverty and deprivation. The so-called “windfall” from subsidy savings must be visible. It is time for ordinary Nigerians to see and feel government beyond slogans and soundbites.

Our youths, who constitute the majority of the population, deserve a fair shot at life. They must be given jobs, hope and a sense of belonging. The civil servants, including teachers, doctors and administrators, who sustain government operations, should be assured of their future so they need not resort to corruption to survive.

Auditors-general should be empowered and protected from political interference to scrutinise how public funds are spent.

Furthermore, states should fully embrace electronic revenue collection systems to block leakages and ghost accounts. Every naira earned or received must be traceable. Development plans should be clear, time-bound and results-oriented.

Recently, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu reminded his colleagues that under the Tinubu administration, no governor or local government chairman could complain of lack of funds.

His counterpart from Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, speaking at the 2025 Northern Nigeria Investment and Industrialisation Summit in Abuja in September, noted that monthly allocations to the three tiers of government had quadrupled under the reforms of President Tinubu.

“For the first time in our history, all the tiers of government are sharing more revenue than they ever imagined.

“Over N2.2 trillion was shared this month (September 2025) alone. When I became governor in 2019, we were sharing between N590 billion and N620 billion. Today, it is four times that amount,” Sule said.

In July this year, President  Tinubu, while speaking at the 14th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), called on state governors to focus more on grassroots engagement to meet the expectations of Nigerians.

“Nigerians are still complaining at the grassroots. To you, the governors, you must wet the grass more and deliver progressive change to Nigerians,” the president told the governors.

That reality makes it inexcusable for governors to continue pleading poverty or blaming the centre. What is missing is not money, but willpower, discipline and empathy. They should stop misplacing priorities.

At Daily Trust, we believe it is time for action, not rhetoric. We commend the few governors who have shown leadership, those who are investing in agriculture, expanding industrial capacity and prioritising human capital development. Others must follow suit.