President Tinubu’s Proposed Visit To Abia State Could Dignify Disrespect For The Rule Of Law And Good Governance.
Wednesday (Afor) 24-09-2025.
A Civil Society Organization, Centre For Equity And Eradication Of Rural Poverty, expressed delight when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, on inauguration, announced automatic removal of Fuel subsidy. More delightful to the Organization was the spontaneous increases in statutory financial allocations to the three tiers of Government in Nigeria.
An important aspect of President Tinubu’s radical economic reform was the bold step his Administration took by approaching the Supreme Court demanding that Statutory Financial Allocations to the Third Tier Government, the Local Government Councils, should be made to the Councils without undue interference by State Governments. The Supreme Court gave a sound unambiguous judgment in favour of direct allocations to the 774 Local Government Councils in Nigeria. Every well-meaning Nigerian applauded both President Tinubu and the Supreme Court for taking a bold step towards restoring sanity by way of financial autonomy to the Councils, capable of bringing about development in the grassroots.
Before the emergence of President Tinubu, hardly did any Local Government Council in Abia State receive more than N80m per month. Currently, Ukwa-West Local Government Council receives, at least, N360m monthly. A Council like Aba-South receives more than N600m monthly.
As for Abia State Government, its monthly allocations before the Administration of President Tinubu hovered around N2.5m and N3.5m. Rarely did it rise to N4m a month. But today, because of President Tinubu’s wisdom and boldness, Abia State receives, at least, N38b monthly.
No matter what toll inflation is assumed to have had on the value of Naira, development in Abia State should be quadrupled, compared to what the State Government claims to have achieved.
Salaries and allowances of both Civil and Public Servants in Abia State are not more than N6b a month. This means that every month, the State has, at least, N32b to engage in quantifiable Infrastructural development. Regrettably, what obtains in Abia State today is tiny developments that are not commensurate with humongous resources the Tinubu Administration consistently pumps into Abia State.
It should be mentioned here that unlike a State Government like Enugu that has always acknowledged that President Tinubu’s Government has been very instrumental to its massive achievements as a result of the unprecedented large flow of monthly statutory allocations released to the State Governments, the Abia State Government holds the Tinubu Presidency in total scorn.
What is of concern more to Centre For Equity And Eradication Of Rural Poverty is the painful fact that allocations to the Local Government Councils in Abia State do not appear to get to the Councils. For more than 10 months that the Council Chairmen and Councillors were said to have been elected and sworn-in, it has been extremely difficult for the Council Chairmen to cut the grasses in their Council premises. Putting on even small generators, such as ‘I Big Pass My Neighbour’ is like a tug of war. The Councils do not embark on any visible project. Grading of roads is completely out of the Councils’ consideration. Promotions duly approved by the previous Administration for Local Government Council Staff were cancelled for just no reason other than to punish the workers. Of course, the State Government put an embargo on workers’ Leave Allowance.
Local Government Councils in Abia State are in a worrisome state of abandonment. Their story is quite pathetic, deplorable and despicable.
Centre For Equity And Eradication Of Rural Poverty strongly believes that lack of development in the grassroots of Abia State, with its attendant poverty ravaging residents of the State could have been averted if the Abia State Government had had some degree of respect for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu whose interest in generously flooding the Local Government Councils in the State with huge monthly allocations is to propel development and meaningfully drastically alleviate poverty in the grassroots.
No doubt, the ‘Labour Party Government’ of Abia State has never had any modicum of respect for President Tinubu. It has not been forgotten that the Government had refused to hang the photo of the President when it came into being. It took a lot of pressure from the public before the President’s photo was hung!
If the rumour being peddled that President Tinubu will visit Abia State on Friday 3rd October, 2025 is true, Centre For Equity And Eradication Of Rural Poverty wishes to advise against it for some reasons among many others;
(1) The Government of Abia State neither has respect for the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, nor the Rule of Law.
(2) The Government of Abia State claims to have expended the sum of N54b on renovation of yet to be identified Schools in the State, and
(3) The Government of Abia claims to have spent N6.5b on establishing a Recreational Facility that the address has not been unveiled to the Peoples of the State despite continuous demand by the citizens.
President Tinubu is expected to guage the pause of Abia Peoples and realize that the above act of obduracy, and subterfuge weigh down very heavily on the masses of Abia State, and have deeply impaired development in the grassroots of Abia State.
Coming to visit Abia State in the face of these obstinacies and contradictions will convey an impression that Mr President might be willing to compromise on the exemplary standard of good governance he has set.
Sir Don Ubani; KSC, JP Okwubunka of Asa and Okeamadi Gburugburu is a former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Abia State, and Executive Director Centre For Equity
And Eradication Of Rural Poverty.
