We Won’t Govern By Excuses, Economic Reforms Must Reflect In Nigerians’ Living Conditions – Makinde

Let me begin by thanking you, Nigerians across the country and my brother Governors for the warm reception we received during our town hall meetings across the six geopolitical zones.

The message was loud and clear: Macroeconomic reforms that do not translate into better living conditions, security of lives and property, and opportunities for prosperity for Nigerians are not enough.

This is why I find the recent comments by Taiwo Oyedele, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, particularly concerning.

In his recent Chatham House outing, he argued that states and local governments receive 85% of Nigeria’s resources, leaving only 15% for the Federal Government. My team has examined this claim, and the available revenue-allocation records do not support that presentation. We will be presenting a comprehensive report on this for Nigerians to examine the evidence.

But beyond the figures is a more fundamental issue:

Economic development is not a competition between the Federal Government and the states over who should take responsibility.

Both have responsibilities. A government committed to national development must coordinate those responsibilities towards measurable economic outcomes.

We cannot build a productive economy if every disappointing outcome becomes an opportunity to explain why another institution or level of government should be held responsible.

And so, after more than three years in office, President Tinubu’s administration should no longer be debating who created Nigeria’s problems.

We should be examining what this administration has done to resolve them, and why Nigerians should believe another four years will produce a different outcome.

In Oyo State, we did not offer excuses when we assumed office, and we are not offering excuses today.

From our first year, we hit the ground running, driving broad-based economic development by creating and strengthening institutions such as the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA) and the Oyo State Investment and Public-Private Partnership Agency (OYSIPA).

Today, these institutions are attracting private investment, creating employment opportunities and supporting agricultural processing.

Through these institutions, we have identified initiatives, programmes and businesses that the government could support, such as the Oyo State Agribusiness Transformation Centre, Fasola, which currently hosts 16 private-sector businesses that have generated over 1,000 direct and indirect jobs, as well as Oyo Sugar and Derivatives Industries Limited and Psaltry International Limited.

We are not planning to govern by excuses. We are preparing to govern by performance. This is the capability we are taking to the Presidency.

Again, I ask: Has President Tinubu’s administration demonstrated that it can translate macroeconomic reforms into broad-based economic development?

Talk to you soon.