Tinubu Tells Media to Hold States, LGs Accountable for Spending

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged the media to intensify oversight of state governments and local councils, just as they do with the Federal Government.

Speaking during a meeting with the Newspapers Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, media executives and the Nigerian Guild of Editors at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Tinubu said local governments now enjoy greater financial autonomy under his administration.

“We’ve opened up the principle of federalism to the extent that local governments are now getting their money,” the President said.

“But how they use it is in your hand, so don’t bombard me alone. Look at local government too, and equally, the sub-national.”

Tinubu maintained that economic reforms introduced by his administration have improved the financial position of states.

“Today, there is no state that is borrowing to pay salaries of employees,” he said.

“Yes, we can complain it’s not enough. We can complain we are not where we should be, but we have to manage what we have to sustain today, survive tomorrow, and make progress.”

For years, several states have struggled to meet salary obligations, frequently depending on loans and federal bailouts during periods of economic strain and declining oil revenues.

The President said allocations to states and local governments have increased due to higher crude oil output, improved tax collection by the Federal Inland Revenue Service—recently renamed the National Revenue Service—and the direct payment of local government allocations after a July 2024 ruling by the Supreme Court of Nigeria granting fiscal autonomy to councils.

Tinubu also expressed appreciation to media proprietors for their criticism, noting that it motivates him to perform better.

“You didn’t spare me, but you challenged me, provoked that intellectual curiosity of a leader that must perform,” he said.

The President further revealed that reading newspapers every morning is a personal habit.

“There is no morning that I ever leave my house without going through the newspapers. It’s an addiction,” he added.

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