Governors Must Step Up to Their Constitutional Responsibilities – former Presidential Aide

Former Presidential Aide, Laolu Akande, has called on state governors to take greater responsibility for the challenges facing their respective states.

Speaking on Channels TV’s Inside Sources With Laolu Akande on Friday, Akande emphasized the significant powers and resources vested in state governments, urging them to step up to their constitutional duties.

He said, “State Governors must take a significant portion of the responsibility. The governors have considerable authority. They have significant resources to make things happen in their states. States have responsibility for education, health, agriculture and so on.

“For instance, there are more than 20 states, possibly 24 in this country that are not accessing the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) federal funds to support basic education. This is free federal government money. They’re not even accessing it because they refuse to put down the counterpart funding with all the money they get. Except in few instances, most of the states are still not doing their jobs diligently but are busy passing the bulk to the Federal government and the president. Even for matters for which they have constitutional powers.”

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Akande highlighted the need for greater accountability at the state level, emphasizing that governors have substantial authority and resources to address critical issues in their states.

The astute public commentator commended Nigerians who participated peacefully the #EndBadGovernance protests saying they acted in the public interest, but security agencies ought to fish out members of the Nigerian elites who might have a hand in the waving of foreign flags during the protests in some parts of the country.

He said, “Let us applaud the public spirit of those Nigerians who came out to protest thereby holding our government at the Federal and state levels accountable. And there are a few observations I will like to add. First, all the talking about the possible partisan backing or political motives behind the protests are not very necessary. At best, they’re secondary consideration.”

“There is no major political party, be it APC or PDP, that is free from responsibility for the current state of affairs,” he stated.

“It is unhelpful for any party leader to suggest that the problems we face are solely the fault of one party. The situation of the country today is the handiwork of of past administrations even going way beyond the Forth Republic.”

Turning to the protests themselves, Akande raised significant security concerns.

He criticized the display of foreign flags and the involvement of foreign nationals during some demonstrations as particularly troubling. “The use of foreign symbols and the presence of foreign nationals is a serious issue,” he said. “Additionally, the calls for military intervention and the violent outbreaks leading to unnecessary deaths must be addressed with utmost urgency.”