President Bola Tinubu recently charged governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to redouble their commitment to development, security, and grassroots mobilisation. The President who wass peaking at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the APC, held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, stressed the imperative of leaving behind a legacy of progressive governance.
In fact, the President lamented the level of hardship in rural communities despite the quantum of money available to the state governors and advised them to ‘wet the grass’.
He also emphasised the administration’s drive toward food sovereignty and urged governors to key into ongoing initiatives aimed at boosting local food production and reducing import dependence.
President Tinubu advised the APC governors to intensify grassroots engagement and lead efforts to deliver tangible change.
In his words
“Nigerians are still complaining at the grassroots. You must wet the grass more. Lead the charge in delivering progressive change. We need more zonal-level engagements to boost mobilisation and unity” .
Also on Thursday, the thirty first of July, 2025,
President Tinubu called on state governors to prioritise the welfare of Nigerians by investing more in rural electrification, agricultural mechanisation, poverty eradication, and infrastructure..
Tinubu’s call followed a presentation on the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme, by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, at a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) held at the State House Council Chambers, Abuja.
The President appealed to the governors to change the story of the people in the rural areas.
The emphasised the need to stimulate growth in the rural areas . The President urged state governors to collaborate with the Federal Government to drive economic development in rural areas across the country.
This call by President Tinubu is spot – on because there cannot be development without appreciable growth at the grassroots . State Governors have no reason to perform and transform the lives of the people at the local level.
Since President Tinubu’s bold economic reforms such as the removal of subsidy on petroleum products and the liberalization of the foreign exchange market, the money available for sharing monthly to the three tiers of government has risen by over sixty percent.
The monthly Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) proceeds have been increasing steadily since President Tinubu assumed office in May, 2023. For instance,N1.3 trillion was shared by the three tiers of government ( Federal,State and Local Government Areas) in June 2023. In 2024 , a total of N15.26 trillion was shared from the federation account. This represents an increase of 66.2 percent, compared to the N9.8 trillion in 2022.
In June, 2025 alone, N1.88 trillion was shared by FAAC to the three tiers of government. The Federal Government received N645 billion, the states got N607.4 billion while the Local Government Areas received N444.8 billion.
This is in addition to the N120.7 billion 13 percent derivation shared to the oil producing states.
The President is being blamed by some Nigerians for the hardship caused by the economic reforms, yet the governors are getting more money from those reforms, and it hasn’t occurred to them to apply it to improve the quality of life of the people.
Yes, Nigerians are right to demand more development from the Federal Government, but their eyes should also be focused on the state governors. For Nigeria to make meaningful progress, development must come from the grassroots. Let’s learn to hold our governors accountable. The State Houses of Assembly should perform their constitutional duty by acting as checks to the state executives instead of colluding with them to rip off their respective states.
State Governors should stop embarking on projects like unviable airports and the building of gigantic Government Houses which have no direct impact on the life of the of the ordinary Nigerian. It is absolutely wrong for governors to
spend billions of naira on palatial residences and offices while the populace grapples with inflation, unemployment, and hunger.The governors must invest in education, agriculture and skill acquisition programmes to tame unemployment at the grassroots. The people must be made to feel the impact of the economic reforms..
*Owaikhena Osikhekha is a Public Affairs Analyst based in Lagos
