Billions In, Nothing Out: Governors Under Fire As States Sink Despite Revenue Boom

By MELVIN KOFFA

ACROSS Nigeria, governors are facing growing public anger and scrutiny — not because of a lack of funds, but because of what analysts describe as a lack of vision, accountability, and willpower to translate the ongoing revenue windfall into real progress.

Over the past year, allocations to states from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) have risen dramatically. Federal reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s administration have quadrupled the funds available to all tiers of government. Yet, rather than triggering visible development or improved security, most states remain mired in decay — their roads broken, schools neglected, and insecurity unrelenting.

A Fiscal Boom, Wasted Promise

Data from FAAC reveals that between February and June 2025, revenue shared among Nigeria’s three tiers of government grew between 39% and 49% year-on-year. In March 2025 alone, states collectively received ₦1.68 trillion, compared to ₦1.12 trillion the previous year. April’s allocation jumped by 41%, and February saw a 48% increase.

In short, state treasuries are richer than they have been in decades.

Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, speaking at the Northern Nigeria Investment and Industrialisation Summit in Abuja, admitted that “for the first time in our history, all tiers of government are sharing more revenue than they ever imagined.”

“When I became governor in 2019, FAAC allocations hovered around ₦600 billion. Today, we are sharing over ₦2.2 trillion monthly,” he noted, urging his colleagues — particularly in the North — to take ownership of their states’ security and development.

But instead of the promised prosperity, citizens are asking a pointed question: Where has the money gone?

Plenty of Money, Little to Show

Across many states, the story is the same — swelling revenues, shrinking accountability.

Human rights lawyer Olalekan Festus Ojo argues that “the challenge is not about the size of allocations, but the quality of governance.” While a few states like Lagos, Edo, Enugu, and Abia have made modest strides in infrastructure, most remain trapped in underdevelopment.

“Higher revenues mean little if they are not tied to transparent budgeting, effective monitoring, and long-term planning,” Ojo said. “Funds are often consumed by bloated recurrent expenditure, leaving little for capital projects.”

Legal analyst Barrister Emeka Iheonu echoes the concern. “Only a handful of states can justify the increased allocations,” he said, noting that while Niger and Imo have recorded some infrastructural improvements, the majority remain stagnant — or worse.

Insecurity continues to spread like a contagion, from bandit-ravaged Zamfara and Katsina to the kidnapping corridors of Kogi, Delta, and the FCT’s outskirts. The irony is stark: states have never had more money — yet citizens have never felt less safe.

Experts Point to a Deeper Rot

Economist Prof. John Ebhomien, a former UN consultant and APC chieftain, links the crisis to “a breakdown of accountability and coordination.” Despite over ₦6 trillion budgeted nationally for security in 2025, he says, much of it vanishes into “personnel and operational costs,” leaving little for real investment in security infrastructure.

He identifies three core failures:

• Inter-agency rivalry that undermines collaboration.

• Corruption that drains funds meant for public safety.

• Absence of citizen-centred planning, where people’s needs are sidelined for politics.

Dr. Herbert Ekechukwu, economist and cleric, puts it more bluntly: “The problem is collusion. Some state officials are in bed with non-state actors. Billions in security votes are misused, and yet communities are left to defend themselves.”

He argues that the fuel subsidy removal — which freed billions in new allocations to states — has not improved lives or safety. “If anything,” he said, “the insecurity and poverty have deepened.”

More Funds, More Corruption

Public affairs analyst Dr. Rexkennedy Saltlove calls it a paradox of abundance. “The huge allocations have only emboldened corruption and bad governance,” he said.

According to Saltlove, the link between infrastructure decay and insecurity is direct. “Bad roads slow down vehicles, making highways ambush points for robbers and kidnappers. Neglected communities become fertile ground for unrest. Poverty becomes weaponised.”

He described Nigeria’s governance structure as a “cycle of elite extraction,” where funds meant for development end up in private estates in Dubai or London, while citizens die on unsafe roads or in hospitals with no electricity.

“Corruption and bad governance,” he said, “create unemployment, illiteracy, and insecurity. A hungry man will do anything to survive — and that’s what we are seeing.”

A Broken Contract Between States and Citizens

For political analyst Hon. Charles Anike, the decay reflects a “moral and institutional collapse.”

“The increased allocations have not translated into better lives because corruption in the states competes with corruption at the federal level,” he said. “Most governors are agents of those at the centre. Infrastructural decay and insecurity persist because state leaders are more loyal to political patrons than to their people.”

From Benue to Bayelsa, from Kano to Cross River, the signs are unmistakable: rising revenue, falling governance.

The Way Forward: Vision, Not Excuses

Experts converge on one point — Nigeria’s problem is not money; it is management.

To reverse the trend, they propose a new compact between state leaders and citizens:

• Full transparency in FAAC spending, published monthly.

• Independent monitoring of state budgets by civil society.

• Performance-based funding, tying future allocations to measurable outcomes.

• Citizen-driven accountability, through open data, legislative oversight, and media pressure.

Until that happens, the rivers of money flowing from Abuja will continue to disappear into the sinkholes of corruption — and the dream of shared prosperity will remain just that: a dream.

Final Word

Governors across Nigeria now stand at a moral and political crossroads. The revenue boom could be their moment of redemption — or the final proof that Nigeria’s crisis is not of resources, but of responsibility.

As Governor Sule himself admitted, “Every state now has the resources to secure its people.”
If that is true, then the persistent insecurity, poverty, and infrastructure decay across the country are no longer accidents — they are choices.