Why Nigerians Must Hold Subnationals Accountable for the Economy Under Tinubu, Not Just the Federal GovernmentWhy Nigerians Must Hold Governors and State Leaders Accountable for the Economy—Not Just Tinubu’s Federal Government.
When many Nigerians discuss the state of the economy, the attention rightly or wrongly is always on the Federal Government only. Agreed the Federal Government controls the major source of revenue of the country which is oil, it is in charge of monetary policy and also the biggest influence in the power sector despite all these focusing exclusively on the Federal Government (FG) obscures a deeper truth: state governments and local councils ( i.e. the subnationals) have enormous influence over daily economic life. For progress to happen, accountability must spread across all tiers of government.
The Powers of Subnationals
The Federal Government under the Presidency of Bola Ahmed Tinubu is giving out more funds out of the revenue to the states and local councils than any other time ever in the history of Nigeria. In Nigeria state governments have power over agriculture, primary education, healthcare, markets, land, and local infrastructure. These are critical areas where if well-handled and prioritized can have positive effects on food prices, children’s schooling, health services, and small businesses and in turn an upward swing on the Human Development Index (HDI) of Nigerians. To have improvement on micro economic indices in the country, state governors and local council bosses must up their games.
Citizens Must Trail Their Money
Every month, the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disburses billions of naira to states and local government areas. Oil rich states like Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom and mega economy behemoth like Lagos States receive allocations that are heftier than the budgets of some small African countries. Yet, poor infrastructure still bedevils these states. Citizens should and must demand for openness and accountability in how subnationals spend their allocations.
Why Shared Accountability Matters
Under Federalism, the central government cannot teleguide or mandate other tiers of government on how to spend money and as a result leaders at the lower level of government must realise that they also own the people responsibilities as much as the central government does.
Conclusion
To achieve a more prosperous Nigeria, governments at all levels should live up to their expectations and collaborate where necessary.
