Tinubu Urges Citizens to Vote Out Underperforming Governors 

President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerians not to praise any governor who has fallen short of expectations in terms of performance since 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 requested that the President keep an eye on how the states were using the palliatives they had been provided to lessen the impact of the elimination of fuel subsidies.

In response, Tinubu asserted that in a constitutional democracy, the President lacks the authority to issue directives to state governments.

He claimed that his only option was to make an appeal to the governors to carry out the directives issued by the Federal Government.

The President urged the people to remove governors who are not meeting expectations, while adding that he could not issue instructions to states because they are closer to the people.

“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.

According to the president, more palliative measures would be implemented for Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs).

You may remember that the Federal Government authorised a palliative package worth N5 billion for each state to aid them in easing the financial pain brought on by the elimination of gasoline subsidies.

There have been worries raised, meanwhile, that some governors would use the intervention for unintended objectives.