By Duruebube “Oblong” Nnadi-Oforgu
Oblong Media Global Intelligence Political & Economic Commentary
I have always maintained that intellectual honesty demands that we acknowledge the truth, even when it contradicts our political preferences. Posterity is an unforgiving witness, and history has an uncomfortable habit of exposing falsehoods, exaggerations and deliberate misrepresentations.
I have serious reservations about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s suitability for office, the integrity questions surrounding his political career and aspects of his administration. Nevertheless, I am prepared to acknowledge that his decision to remove petroleum subsidies may have been motivated by a genuine conviction that Nigeria could no longer sustain the enormous fiscal burden and that the resources saved could be redirected towards national development and poverty alleviation.
We cannot establish the President’s private intentions with certainty, but we can evaluate the economic rationale behind his decisions and, more importantly, their consequences.
The removal of petroleum subsidies and subsequent exchange rate reforms substantially increased revenues accruing to the Federation Account. These additional resources were distributed among the federal, state and local governments, giving governors considerably greater financial capacity to address the suffering of their people.
The figures are revealing.
According to BudgIT’s 2025 State of States report, gross Federation Account allocations to the 35 states covered by its analysis rose from approximately ₦5.4 trillion in 2023 to ₦11.38 trillion in 2024, an increase of over 110%.
Furthermore, the Federal Ministry of Finance estimates that state governments received approximately ₦9.17 trillion in additional allocations between June 2023 and December 2025 compared with the pre subsidy removal monthly distribution rate.
These are enormous sums of money, even allowing for inflation, exchange rate depreciation, debt obligations and the rising cost of government operations.
The question is simple: where is the corresponding improvement in the lives of ordinary Nigerians?
Where are the adequately equipped public hospitals? Where are the rehabilitated public schools, functional rural roads, agricultural support programmes, affordable transportation systems, clean water schemes and employment generating investments?
Why are so many citizens still struggling to afford food, healthcare, education and other basic necessities despite the unprecedented expansion of government revenues?
I believe this is where a significant part of President Tinubu’s economic reform agenda has encountered its greatest institutional obstacle: the failure of too many state governments to translate hugely increased revenues into measurable improvements in living standards.
Instead of prioritising poverty reduction and productive economic activities, some administrations appear more interested in jet setting, furthering ambition, politically attractive capital projects, expensive government establishments, patronage networks and wasteful expenditures whose immediate benefits to ordinary citizens are questionable.
Let me be clear. Infrastructure development is important. Roads, airports, public buildings and urban renewal can stimulate economic growth when properly conceived and executed. But development priorities must reflect the immediate needs of the people.
A government that celebrates monumental projects while its public schools shamefully deteriorate, rural communities remain totally inaccessible and citizens struggle to feed themselves has a serious problem of priorities.
There are also persistent allegations of wasteful diversion and misappropriation of public funds across different administrations. Such allegations must be investigated rather than casually presented as established facts. Accountability demands evidence, independent audits and, where wrongdoing is established, prosecution.
Nevertheless, the absence of a criminal conviction does not absolve a governor of responsibility for wasteful spending, poor planning or demonstrable failures in public service delivery.
I am increasingly persuaded that the governors constitute one of the greatest obstacles to the success of Tinubu’s economic reforms.
This does not absolve the President himself.
He must answer for the speed and sequencing of subsidy removal, the inadequacy of early social protection, the inflationary consequences of his administration’s policies, federal expenditure priorities and the continuing hardship experienced by millions of Nigerians.
But it would be intellectually dishonest to attribute every failure of governance to Abuja while overlooking the enormous constitutional responsibilities and financial resources of our 36 state governments and 774 local governments.
Indeed, some governors have demonstrated that purposeful leadership can deliver visible results even within Nigeria’s difficult economic environment. Others must be judged against the same standards.
We must therefore begin demanding detailed public accounts of every state and local governments additional revenues since May 2023, the projects financed, the contracts awarded, the debts serviced and, most importantly, the measurable benefits delivered to citizens.
President Tinubu may have created additional fiscal space, but too many governors have failed to convert that opportunity into meaningful economic relief.
If that is the case, then the President has been politically undermined by the very subnational institutions expected to help implement the benefits of his reforms. More importantly, the Nigerian people have been failed.
We must stop treating governors as untouchable political emperors while concentrating all our frustrations on the presidency.
The governors must answer for their stewardship.
Ultimately, the success or failure of economic reform cannot be measured by how much money government collects or distributes, but by how substantially it improves the lives of the governed.
Nigeria’s tragedy may not simply be a shortage of resources. It is also the persistent failure to convert available resources into public welfare.
And until we confront that failure at federal, state and local government levels, until we dislodge local government funds from the governors, no economic reform, however well intentioned, will deliver its full promise.
Duruebube Oblong Nnadi-Oforgu
For
Oblong Media Global Intelligence
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