President Bola Tinubu has criticised the inadequate implementation of democracy at the local level and urged state governors to give local community demands top priority.
Tinubu also discussed out-of-school youth, security, and the economy during his Thursday conversation with the leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum, or ACF, in the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The President said the ACF leadership should step in and urge governors to provide the demands of residents in the councils immediate attention, pointing out that grassroots efforts receive the majority of votes in elections.
Tinubu stated: “We are running a constitutional democracy” in a statement provided by Ajuri Ngalale, his Special Advisor on Media and Publicity.
I shall request that you call a meeting of the governors. I am making every effort to increase the nation’s revenue base. They also need to be empathetic and give the locals’ needs top priority.
Individuals live in the nearby communities. They reside, work, and farm there. In our capacity as leaders, we must let go of the statistics if local governments are unable to provide services in an efficient manner.
Are the 774 local government districts that we have really that effective? Do they assist Nigerians with their problems? Do they work with the federal and state governments to coordinate development programming?
“Who bears the responsibility for the 774 local governments’ performance? Perhaps we ought to consider recalibrating. Things that were good four years ago might not be so good now. We go to the people in the area to obtain votes, and then we relocate to Abuja and concentrate on it after we have them.
The President emphasised the need of education in fostering national identity and deemed the state of unschooled children in some regions of Nigeria intolerable.
Regarding security, President Tinubu said that everyone wants to be safe and that more money has to be invested in technology. He praised Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser, for his work. I assure you that we will succeed. We would spare no effort to guarantee Nigeria’s security and the safety of its people.
During the event, Tinubu also made a call for maintaining support for his government and for national unity as it works to address issues facing the general public.
He ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the matters brought up at the meeting, and he designated Senator George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, to head the investigation.
