Yusuf Gagdi, the lawmaker representing Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, has urged Nigerians to stop blaming President Bola Tinubu for the country’s economic crisis.
He argued that state governors, not the president, should be held responsible for the hardship citizens are facing.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Gagdi said the governors have failed to justify the huge monthly allocations they receive since Tinubu removed fuel subsidy.
“The day he came into power, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made a bold statement: ‘Subsidy is gone.’ He did not stop there,” Gagdi explained.
He revealed that allocations to states had tripled after subsidy removal, yet many governors had little to show. “A state that took N4 billion monthly when there was subsidy now takes between N10 and N14 billion,” he said.
The lawmaker questioned why citizens continue to blame the presidency instead of demanding accountability from state leaders. “Why are Nigerians and state assemblies not questioning the performances of their governors? If the revenue given to each state has tripled by the efforts of Mr. President in fulfilment of his campaign promise, why are the governors not justifying that?” he asked.
Gagdi also pointed to several federal government interventions as proof that Tinubu is fulfilling his promises. These include student loan schemes, family support programmes, and initiatives targeted at small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“Can we say the infrastructures they (governors) develop are commensurate with the money they receive?” he added, stressing that citizens must demand transparency and results at the state level.
The lawmaker insisted that shifting all the blame for Nigeria’s economic woes onto Tinubu was unfair, arguing that governors must be held to account if reforms are to deliver real results for the people.
