President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerian media executives to extend their scrutiny beyond the Federal Government and hold state governors and local government authorities accountable for the use of public funds.
The President made the call on Friday, during an interfaith breaking of fast he hosted for media proprietors, editors, and executives at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The event brought together leaders from the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), and the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON).
Tinubu highlighted his administration’s reforms to strengthen fiscal federalism, particularly the enforcement of financial autonomy for the 774 local government areas, following the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling. He noted that local governments now receive their allocations directly, freeing them from previous state-level deductions and control.
“We’ve opened up the principle of federalism to the extent that local governments are now getting their money. But how they use it is in your hands. So don’t bombard me alone. Look at local government too, and equally, the sub-national”, he stated.
The President’s remarks, delivered in a light-hearted yet pointed tone, underscored that Nigeria’s development cannot rest solely on the federal level. With increased fiscal resources flowing to states and local governments, he argued, the media has a crucial role in monitoring grassroots spending, service delivery, and project execution, in order to ensure tangible benefits reach ordinary citizens.
Tinubu emphasised that greater financial independence for sub-national entities creates new opportunities for local development, but also demands stronger oversight. “The country’s development cannot be left for the Federal Government alone”, he stressed, calling on the media to demand accountability, transparency and results from governors and local government chairmen just as rigorously as they do from his administration.
The statement comes amid ongoing debates about the implementation of local government autonomy, with some reports indicating uneven compliance across states despite the court’s directive.
