The Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, has said the recent nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests that began on August 1, 2024, should serve as an eye-opener for governors to begin to “do something”, especially those of the Northern region.
The governor made the statement during an interview on Thursday evening on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
Sule, who was addressing agitations about the failure of state governments to account for large allocations received from the Federal Governments, assured Nigerians that governors were all working with the funds provided.
He argued that state and federal government revenues had improved under the President Tinubu-led administration while commending the President for allowing the sharing of the funds to the states, and the FCT.
He said, “No state will say that their revenue has not actually multiplied by two, sometimes doubled. In the past, the total amount of revenue shared monthly was around N600bn to maybe about N620bn max, sometimes even slightly lower. Today, you see the total amount being shared, N1.1trn, N1.2trn and the rest of that.
“Every state, as well as the Federal Government, is receiving improved revenue; thanks to Mr President for allowing it to go like that.
“Because he would have said, ‘No, this is money meant for subsidy. Therefore, we are going to take it and divert it somewhere. No, but they are sharing it so that every state will go and do other things, and every state is doing.
“As a matter of fact, this protest that came, is an eye-opener, especially for my colleagues in the North. Even if anyone is not doing anything, this is the time to do something, because we can’t blame other people. I love the statement made by Shehu Sani (Senator), when he said to forget about the microscope and look at the mirror, and this is the time.
For me, I can’t wait for next week or the week after, when we sit down as governors of Northern Nigeria, and tell each other the truth; we must do something. We have no reason not to do anything.”