By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
Amid the significant rise in monthly revenue allocations to all levels of government, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has called on Nigerians to hold state governors and local government chairmen accountable for the management of public funds.
Speaking on Monday in Abuja during the launch of a book titled Vicious Red Circle, authored by Ambassador Alex Ugochukwu Oriaku, Yilwatda noted that the funds now available to states and local governments have multiplied significantly since the beginning of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
According to him, no state governor or council chairman receives less than three to four times what was previously allocated before the current administration came into power. He argued that with such an increase in revenue, subnational leaders have no excuse not to improve the welfare of their citizens.
He said: “No governor in Nigeria. Who knows that two years ago, there was a share of about N400 billion per month. But today, the last share they did was N2.2 trillion. No governor in Nigeria today collects less than three times, up to four times what they used to collect before. None.
“So they can do more for their people. No governor collects lower than three times. None. They are focusing now on bigger projects. And to me, this is a turnaround that we need in governors.
“I would say, talk to your governors. Talk to your Local Government Chairmen. Let them do more.”
Yilwatda maintained that the Tinubu-led administration had set the country on the path of recovery through its economic reforms, adding that the ruling party was determined to ensure that the impact of those policies is felt by ordinary Nigerians.
He said it was his vision to see the APC steer Nigeria towards genuine progress, not just in appearance but through measurable results.
“It’s my dream that I have a party that is driving Nigeria in the right direction. To give Nigeria not just optics alone, but a reality that Nigeria is better and open,” he said.
The APC chairman further pointed to economic indicators as evidence that the country’s fortunes were improving under the present government.
“We can turn around the corner. And as a political party, the APC, we like doing the unthinkable.
We make changes that look unreasonable to the eye of people, but deep within, and seated in our hearts, are things that we can make changes that can improve the life of our people.
“That’s at the centre of our hearts. And that’s why we’re working as citizens with the economy, and everybody knows the numbers are changing.
“The World Bank, the IMF, said we can’t grow up to 3% GDP per annum. We are doing 4.23% now. It was predicted that by now, we can’t do more than 1 million barrels per day.
We are doing 1.7, 1.8 million barrels per day. And I can keep giving the numbers. But these numbers must reflect on the people,” Yilwatda stated.