Former presidential Aide, Laolu Akande, has called on state governors to take greater responsibility for the challenges facing their respective states.
Speaking on Friday, Akande emphasized the significant powers and resources vested in state governments, urging them to step up to their constitutional duties.
He said, “State Governors must take a significant portion of the responsibility. The governors have considerable authority. They have significant resources to make things happen in their states. States have responsibility for education, health, agriculture and so on.
“For instance, there are more than 20 states, possibly 24 in this country that are not accessing the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) federal funds to support basic education. This is free federal government money. They’re not even accessing it because they refuse to put down the counterpart funding with all the money they get. Except in few instances, most of the states are still not doing their jobs diligently but are busy passing the bulk to the Federal government and the president. Even for matters for which they have constitutional powers.”
Akande highlighted the need for greater accountability at the state level, emphasizing that governors have substantial authority and resources to address critical issues in their states.
