Governors Under Scrutiny: Call for Accountability in Nigeria’s Fuel Subsidy Savings
Prominent All Progressives Congress (APC) founding member Osita Okechukwu has endorsed recent demands for increased gubernatorial accountability in managing fuel subsidy removal windfall, amplifying concerns about state-level financial transparency.
Supporting Professor Nentawe Yilwatda’s stance, Okechukwu highlighted how state governments have emerged as the primary beneficiaries of the fuel subsidy removal policy, drawing on data from both the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Despite record-breaking allocations through the Federal Allocation Accounts Committee (FAAC), many Nigerian states continue to grapple with widespread poverty, security challenges, and inadequate infrastructure. This disconnect between increased revenue and persistent developmental challenges has raised questions about resource utilization at the state level.
“It’s time for a change in mindset, where we stop heaping blame only on the Federal Government,” Okechukwu stated, calling for a shift in public attention toward state-level governance.
The timing of these remarks carries particular significance for the APC, which holds a majority in the governors’ forum. Okechukwu specifically challenged his party’s governors to align with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reform agenda and security funding initiatives, suggesting a need for improved performance at the state level.
The push for accountability aims to ensure that the substantial savings from the fuel subsidy removal directly contribute to addressing critical development needs rather than being mismanaged. This call for transparency represents a growing movement to strengthen governance at all levels of Nigeria’s federal system, with citizens increasingly encouraged to demand better stewardship of public resources from their state leaders.
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