Akeredolu’s wife urges Tinubu to hold governors accountable

• Governors receiving the alerts – Shehu Sani

By Boye Oyeyemi –

Former First Lady of Ondo State, Dr Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, has called on President Bola Tinubu to take decisive steps in holding state governors accountable for the use of increased federal allocations following the removal of fuel subsidy.

She made the appeal in a Facebook post sighted by WESTERN POST and titled “Enough of the Blame Game: Mr President, Nigerians Demand Accountability; Start with the Governors.”

“Nigerians are in pain. Hunger walks freely in the land. Inflation is out of control. Insecurity is a daily nightmare. Public infrastructure is crumbling, and millions now live on the edge of survival… Why has life become this unbearable, especially after the removal of fuel subsidy that was meant to save Nigeria billions?” she wrote.

Betty questioned why state governments were rarely scrutinised despite receiving “billions of naira monthly” in allocations since subsidy removal, noting that there is “little to nothing on ground to show for it” in terms of jobs, infrastructure, or economic relief.

She stressed that the current hardship should not be blamed solely on the President while governors escape accountability.

“In a country where millions are disenfranchised, impoverished, and preoccupied with survival, expecting citizens to boldly confront their Governors is a tall order,” she said, adding that Nigeria’s political culture still shields state leaders from scrutiny.

According to her, the reality places the responsibility on the President to lead the charge for transparency and performance.

She urged Tinubu to “demand transparency from the Governors, audit and publish how state allocations are being used, tie further disbursements to measurable performance indicators, name and shame underperforming Governors, and stop shielding state-level rot with silence.”

Similarly, a former senator and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Shehu Sani, in a post on Saturday on X, said, “The Subsidy was removed. The People are bearing the brunt. The President is receiving the bashing. The Governors are receiving the alerts.”