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Experts Urge States to Focus on Revenue Generation, Fiscal Transparency
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…Extol Sokoto for performance
Public Finance experts, and business analysts have urged Nigerian States to focus more on internal revenue generation rather than waiting on the Federal Government to allocate funds to them.
This was part of the conclusion reached at the January 2021 CIAPS Roundtable tagged “Fiscal Transparency Accountability and Sustainability of Nigerian States”. The event hosted by the Lagos based international Graduate school CIAPS had participants from across the 36 States for the federation and from outside Nigeria discussed how Nigerian States were doing in terms of budgeting, revenue, debt management and fiscal responsibility.
Lead discussants at the CIAPS Roundtable included Ayo Teriba, CEO Economic Associates, Phillip Isakpa, Executive Director Businessnewscorp and Yemi Kolapo Editor In Chief at The Point Newspaper, the event was chaired by Anthony Kila.
Dr Ayo Teriba lead the conversation and opend by disagreeing with the general concept introduced by Prof Anthony Kila that many Nigerian States were not financially viable. According to Teriba every State in Nigeria has the potential for being viable, it is just about having the right leadership that can identify how to generate wealth. Teriba noted that too little is being done by States to generate investments and that no Nigerian State has a portal dedicated to attracting and guiding investors. He listed the Economy, Natural Capital, Human Capital and Governance as the four levers that the states need to push on to generate revenue.
In analysing the Fiscal Transparency Accountability and Sustainability of States, Mr Philip Isakpa noted that generally speaking too many individuals and businesses are focused on the Federal Government instead of looking at what states are doing. He called on all to be more vigilant of and involved with States Government. Philip Isakpa agreed with Anthony Kila that the tying grants to fiscal responsibility is a very good move that allows citizens and businesses to know and access which States were doing well and which ones were doing badly.
Ms Yemi Kolapo sounded a note of caution warning that while the performance conditioned grant was a good thing, we should be careful to make sure that States are actually doing good things and they are not just working the books to get funds.
Prof Kila invited the media and other observers to provide information of the States doing well and those doing badly in terms economic management and fiscal responsibility. “We need to know who are the performers and who are the bench warmers” noted Kila.
The federal government early January disbursed N123.34 billion performance-based grant to eligible states under the World Bank supported states fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability (SFTAS) programme for results.
Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, announced then that Sokoto state received the highest amount of N6.612 billion while Kano state got the lowest amount of N1.710 billion. Bayelsa, Imo, Rivers and Zamfara States got zero allocation due to their inability to meet the 2019 eligibility criteria which required States to publish online approved annual budgets and audited financial statements within a specific timeframe.
In separate interviews many of the experts that participated at the event urged all states to focus on Revenue Generation and Fiscal Transparency and to learn from Sokoto State that was able to lead the table of performing states. Rotimi Olarewaju a financial analyst noted that Sokoto state must be praised and used as an example for other States since it is showing others that wining the World Bank performance-based grant is possible.
Accomplished media entrepreneur and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Dele Momodu, has said that nobody trusts President Bola Tinubu to conduct a free and fair election, including the President’s own supporters.
Momodu also noted that there is a belief that if the President does not win in 2027, he will not want to relinquish power.
He added that if Tinubu refuses to step down, he would be chased out of the Presidential Villa.
Momodu made the revelations while speaking on Arise News Prime Time belt.
“If you ask an average Nigerian today about Tinubu, ‘Do you trust Tinubu to conduct a free and fair election?’ I can tell you, 90 per cent of them will say no.
“Look, nobody trusts Tinubu to run a free and fair election, including his own supporters. They will tell you, ‘Oh, we are going to win. There is no way we won’t win.’ Ask them why, and they will say, ‘Oh, you know our oga now.’
“In fact, some people are even suggesting that if Tinubu loses the election, he will not agree to step down. I say, why won’t he agree? We will chase him away.
“Look, you do not know the determination of Nigerians. And now, I’m not resting my confidence on just my party. I’m talking about the ordinary man on the street who cannot imagine Tinubu coming back again. They just can’t.
“I can’t tell you our strategy in public. What we know is that, once upon a time, Tinubu fought for himself to secure a second term as governor of Lagos State.
“So, others are also working very hard behind the scenes. We are not going to come out in public and say this, but we know what to do to make sure that he does not get that second term. We also know that some of the people pretending to support him today—and I’m not trying to trivialise this thing.
“I know some of them. They are praying fervently that they will not have to go through this situation where governors become like houseboys. Governors are scared. Judges are scared. Legislators are scared.
“So, Tinubu has become a god whom nobody is ready to confront and say, ‘Oga, you’ve done your best. Please, go home.’”
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has urged President Bola Tinubu to go home and let Nigeria breathe.
Adebayo said this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.
He was responding to the President’s plan to excuse himself from the rigors of physical campaigns in some states ahead of the presidential polls.
Tinubu spoke at the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja, urging members to take the party’s message to Nigerians across the states and local government areas while he continues to attend to matters of governance.
In response, Adebayo argued that, if Tinubu is too tired to campaign, he is too weak to govern.
In a statement signed by his Presidential Campaign’s Chief Communications Adviser, Comrade Mark Adebayo, the SDP standard bearer described Tinubu as a “president in absentia” at a time Nigeria needs hands-on leadership.
Adebayo said: “Nigeria is too complex, too dynamic, and currently too distressed to be governed by remote control.”
He cited what he called repeated instances of the President governing from a distance, including prolonged medical vacations disguised as working visits, absence during national emergencies and reliance on proxies to announce State policies.
Adebayo further said: “We have seen repeated instances when the President was visibly missing when the country needed reassurance.
“From unannounced foreign trips during critical economic decisions to his complete silence during widespread regional protests, he has consistently acted like a president in absentia. If you are too tired to campaign, you are too weak to govern.”
Adebayo alleged that the decision to stay off the campaign trail was not about strategy but fear.
“The excuse of bowing out of the 2027 campaign is a cowardly smokescreen. The truth is that the President is terrified of the Nigerian people,” he argued.
According to him, the administration’s economic policies – fuel subsidy removal fallout, skyrocketing inflation and currency instability -have made the President unpopular.
“He knows the pain his bad policies have inflicted on families. He is hiding because he cannot face public anger, and he knows any appearance on a campaign trail will be met with collective booing of a betrayed populace.”
Adebayo also said: “It is time to face reality: step aside, go home, and let this country breathe.”
He called on the administration to prioritise national interest over political survival and be transparent about the President’s capacity to lead for the remainder of his term.
Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria is set to be officially unveiled in Abuja this weekend, as the organisation prepares to strengthen the club’s fan base and promote community development through football.
Amongst the high profile personalities lined up for the unveiling ceremony include, business leaders, celebrities and notable Arsenal supporters like former Gunner, Kanu Nwankwo, former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Senator Dino Melaye amongst others.
The unveiling will form part of a two-day programme beginning on Friday, October 16, with delegates from state and city chapters expected to converge on the nation’s capital for the club’s second Annual General Meeting (AGM).
According to a press release issued on Monday by the organisation, the celebrations will feature sporting activities, a community sanitation initiative and a formal launch event attended by prominent personalities and Arsenal supporters.
National President of Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria, Charles Ojugbana, said the organisation draws inspiration from the achievements of Nigerian-descent footballers, including former Super Eagles striker Kanu Nwankwo and current stars Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze.
The former General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) said the club aims to improve the football fan experience while expanding support for Arsenal across Nigeria.
Activities scheduled for Saturday include aerobic sessions and a novelty football match before members proceed to Wuse Market for a clean-up campaign.
As part of the outreach, the club plans to donate refuse bins and other sanitation materials to the market’s leadership, in line with its commitment to philanthropy and community development.
Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria operates through a governance structure comprising a Board of Trustees, a National Executive Committee and a General Assembly, which serves as the organisation’s highest decision-making body.
The club also disclosed plans to promote awareness of Down syndrome among children in March 2027, as part of activities to commemorate World Down Syndrome Day.
The programme expresses the organisation’s ambition to extend its activities beyond football fandom to charitable causes and support for vulnerable members of the society.
