A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Salihu Lukman, has accused President Bola Tinubu of encouraging fiscal recklessness among state governors by continuing to approve large federal allocations despite their alleged mismanagement of public funds.
Speaking Friday on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, the former All Progressives Congress (APC) National Vice Chairman criticised the Tinubu-led administration for failing to hold governors accountable, stating that some state executives have diverted public resources for personal gain while neglecting development needs.
“Yes, the president has said the right thing, but what is he doing to ensure that governors do what they need to do?” Lukman asked.
“What I see him doing is to reward them for doing the wrong things.”
Lukman’s comments come days after the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria published a report spotlighting governors’ extravagant spending on government house renovations, despite rising inflation, hunger, and economic hardship nationwide—conditions worsened by the removal of petrol subsidies and exchange rate unification.
President Tinubu had on Thursday urged governors to invest in poverty eradication and make governance felt at the grassroots, but Lukman questioned the president’s commitment to enforcing accountability.
He alleged that the 23 APC governors and 13 opposition governors have grown “arrogant and unaccountable” due to their grip on party structures.
“Once we have a system where the structure of the party is subordinated to them, they will continue with this arrogance and continue to be unaccountable and convert public resources as if it is their personal property,” he said.
Lukman also criticised the APC’s strategy of admitting opposition governors without accountability measures, referencing recent defections by Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and Akwa Ibom’s Umo Eno from the PDP to the ruling party.
“When your recruitment policy is blindly informed in a way that all you want is for people to come into your party without giving them the conditions to be accountable to their people… it shows many of them only seek power, not service delivery,” he added.
On the state of the APC, Lukman claimed the party is now “worse than the PDP,” accusing its leaders of betraying members’ trust.
He expressed confidence in the ADC’s coalition structure ahead of 2027, pledging it would demand accountability from its public officeholders and keep governance tied strictly to party manifestos.
“The ADC as a coalition is a platform for struggle. If we produce the next president, our leaders must deliver services based on our electoral promises,” he said.
