•Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State
Katsina State governor, Malam Dikko Radda, has urged Nigerians to stop blaming state governors alone for the worsening economic hardship in the country, stating that the federal government controls more than half of the country’s monthly federation revenue.
The governor, who stated this in an interview with Radio France Internationale (RFI) Hausa, explained that the revenue-sharing formula leaves subnational governments struggling to meet growing demands, despite widespread assumptions that governors control the bulk of national resources.
His remarks come amid mounting pressure on state governments to account for increased allocations following the removal of fuel subsidy.
Radda said, while public anger over rising hardship is often directed at governors and local government chairmen, the Federal Government receives the largest share of funds from the Federation Account.
“Whenever there is hardship, people blame governors and local governments. But when revenue is shared, 52 per cent goes to the Federal Government. It is the remaining 48 per cent that is shared among the 36 states and 774 local governments.”
“For decades, the federal government has been receiving the larger share of federation revenue. So the question Nigerians should be asking is: where has the bulk of that money gone?”
The governor further dismissed corruption allegations mostly directed at state governors, warning against what he termed as a sweeping statement.
He argued that leadership should be judged basically on an individual basis, insisting that not all elected officials are corrupt.
“Leadership is about individual integrity. It is wrong to generalise and label everyone the same way. Public office holders would ultimately be held accountable for their actions.
The governor, while defending his administration’s continued investment in capital projects despite the prevailing economic hardship, emphasised that infrastructure development remains one of the fastest ways to inject money into the grassroots economy through job creation.
“When you execute capital projects, you create jobs and bring money down to the people at the grassroots because Labourers earn wages, food vendors make sales, and suppliers benefit.”
According to him, the impact of such spending is already visible across local government areas in Katsina State.
“If you go to the local governments today, you will see a lot of economic activity because funds have reached the communities,” he said.
