APC Chieftain Urges Nigerians To Hold Governors Accountable For Increased FAAC Revenue

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has urged Nigerians to hold state governors to account for increased revenue inflows following the removal of fuel subsidy.

Okechukwu made the call in a statement on Tuesday while endorsing the advice of APC Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, who recently charged citizens to demand more transparency and performance from subnational governments.

“In my own recalibration of events, the subnationals — states and local governments — are the greatest beneficiaries of the removal of fuel subsidy,” Okechukwu said.

While citing data from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he recalled that Nigeria’s fuel subsidy expenditure reached staggering levels over the years, including ₦667bn in 2010, ₦2.11tn in 2011, ₦1.36tn in 2012, ₦1.32tn in 2013, ₦1.22tn in 2014, ₦654bn in 2015, ₦240bn in 2016, ₦154bn in 2017, ₦1.9tn in 2018, ₦508bn in 2019, ₦864bn in 2020, ₦1.43tn in 2021, ₦4.39tn in 2022, and ₦3.6tn in 2023.

He noted that with the removal of the subsidy and the subsequent rise in allocations from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), state and local governments now have significant fiscal space to tackle poverty, insecurity, and infrastructure deficits.

Okechukwu lamented, however, that many Nigerians continue to face economic hardship despite the increased inflows to the subnational governments.

“The call is timely as many citizens still wallow in multidimensional poverty, local insecurity, and infrastructural decay, even though the states now receive more revenue that was previously used to fund fuel subsidy,” he stated.

The APC chieftain urged a shift in mindset among Nigerians who often blame the Federal Government alone for governance failures, arguing that “accountability must cascade downwards.”

He praised President Bola Tinubu for showing commitment to national renewal through reforms in the energy sector and significant investments in security, stressing that governors must emulate this leadership example.

“My candid appeal to adhere to Professor Yilwatda’s advice as a challenge to rededicate themselves to development is mostly to APC’s governors, especially now that we have an outstanding majority of governors,” Okechukwu said.