Tinubu wants Nigerians to vote out underperforming governors

President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerians not to reward any governor who has fallen short of expectations in terms of performance with re-election.

The President made the appeal during a meeting with some Muslim scholars at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday, August 24, 2023.

The scholars had asked the President to monitor the distribution of palliatives given to states to cushion the negative impact of fuel subsidy removal.

In his response, Tinubu said a President doesn't have the power to give orders to state governments in a constitutional democracy.

According to him, he could only appeal to the governors to follow through on orders given to them by the Federal Government.

While emphasising that he could not bark out orders to states as they're closer to the people, the President urged the people to vote out governors who are not performing up to expectation.

“The people reside in the states. Even if I set up a panel, I will have to go through the governors and the local governments. We will continue to talk to the governors. Nigerians must hold them accountable.

“It’s unheard of that in a constitutional democracy; a president will sit here and give orders to states. I can only appeal to them to implement. The people reside in the states, and if the governor is not doing well, the people must vote them out,” he said.

The President also disclosed that more palliative interventions will be rolled out for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

You'd recall that the Federal Government approved a palliative package worth N5bn for each state to help them lessen the economic hardship arising from the removal of fuel subsidies.

However, concerns have been raised that some governors might divert the intervention for other purposes.