Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has challenged state governors to demonstrate how they have utilised the increased revenues available to them following the removal of petrol subsidy.
Key Highlights
- Wike challenges governors to account for how they have spent increased revenues following petrol subsidy removal.
- He says the Nigeria Governors’ Forum cannot replace individual accountability to state residents.
- Governors should provide evidence of how additional allocations have been used for projects, salaries, pensions and public services.
- Wike defended the petrol subsidy removal, arguing that it has expanded the revenue pool available to federal, state and local governments.
- He said increased revenues have improved states’ ability to meet financial obligations and reduced labour disputes over unpaid salaries.
Wike made the call on Wednesday, during a media interaction with journalists in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, insisting that governors should personally account to their constituents for the additional funds received by their respective states.
According to him, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum cannot substitute for the individual responsibility of state governments to explain how public resources have been spent.
“What you call the Nigerian Governors’ Forum is an association. I’m a governor of State A, I should be able to defend my State A,” Wike said.
The minister argued that subsidy removal ubstantially increased revenue available to the federal, state and local governments, thereby providing states with greater financial capacity to execute projects, pay salaries and pensions and improve public services.
He maintained that governors were elected by citizens of their respective states and should therefore be directly accountable to them.
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“Rivers State government is accountable to the citizens of Rivers State. Anambra State government is accountable because they have been elected by citizens of those states, not by the entire federation of Nigeria,” he said.
Wike challenged governors to present concrete evidence of how the additional allocations have been deployed, including projects and programmes financed with the increased revenue.
“If Governor Diri says, look, challenge me. The money that came, see what I’ve done for Bayelsa State,’ fine,” he said, referring to Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri.
The FCT minister also defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy, arguing that the policy has expanded the revenue pool available to the three tiers of government.
He said the policy should not be judged solely by the controversy surrounding its implementation, but by what governments have done with the additional resources at their disposal.
Wike pointed to improvements in states’ ability to meet financial obligations, including payment of salaries and pensions, while noting that labour disputes associated with unpaid wages had reduced.
“Today, the states are saying, unlike before, we can’t pay salaries, we can’t pay pensions, strikes all over the places. Are there strikes again now? They can tell you, no,” he said.
He stressed that governments should be prepared to show citizens tangible results from public spending and explain how additional resources have translated into improved services and infrastructure.
