KEY POINTS
- Tinubu orders governors to release local government allocations.
- President pledges state police to tackle insecurity nationwide.
- APC expands influence through defections and new membership system.
President Bola Tinubu yesterday directed Nigeria’s 36 governors to hand over local government allocations directly to councils in line with the Supreme Court ruling on autonomy, stressing that there can be no real autonomy without a funded mandate. He made the remarks during the 14th All Progressives Congress (APC) National Caucus meeting at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja.
Speaking to party leaders, Tinubu said flexibility, tolerance, and direct involvement at local levels were essential to promoting stability and development. “You must yield and continue to promote, tolerate and be flexible, get involved in whatever is happening in your various states, up to local government level,” he said.
State police pledge to US and EU partners
Tinubu also told governors and APC leaders that he assured the United States and European Union that Nigeria will establish state police to tackle insecurity. “They asked me if I’m confident, and I said yes, I have a party to depend on. I have a party that will make it happen,” he said, emphasizing the party’s central role in implementing reforms.
He further linked the Supreme Court’s ruling on local government autonomy with the need for direct funding. “To me, the local government autonomy, it is and must be effective. There is no autonomy without a funded mandate, we will give them their money directly. That’s the truth. That’s compliance of the Supreme Court. Take leadership seriously,” Tinubu said.
National Chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda also highlighted the party’s growth, citing defections, a new electronic membership system, and plans for a national secretariat in Abuja. He said the party now enjoys an “overwhelming majority” in both chambers of the National Assembly and urged stakeholders to support expansion ahead of planned congresses and the 2026 national convention.
The caucus also included six recent governors who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as well as Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, who called for collaborative leadership and respect for governors as state leaders.
