Former Borno State Governor Ali Modu Sheriff has dismissed criticisms by Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi against President Bola Tinubu, insisting that the President’s economic reforms have significantly boosted revenues available to states.
Sheriff, who governed Borno from 2003 to 2011, made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television on Monday, responding to Obi’s earlier call for Tinubu to resign or abandon any re-election bid over worsening insecurity.
The former governor argued that Tinubu’s removal of the fuel subsidy had increased the revenue available for distribution to states through the Federation Account Allocation Committee.
According to Sheriff, Borno received about N150 billion in federal allocations during his eight years as governor, compared to monthly allocations of up to N55 billion now received by some states.
“If you go online today and look at the allocations to states, look at the ten highest state allocations, you’ll see that some states got as much as N55 billion in one month,” he said.
“In my eight years in governance, my total allocation was about N150 billion for eight years. This is what one state now gets in two or three months. If you go by what’s on record, you’ll see that Tinubu has done a lot. He wanted the country to progress; he wanted freedom for the states,” Sheriff added .
The former governor also defended the fuel subsidy removal, saying the policy prevented a fiscal crisis.
“If, at the time, Tinubu had not removed the fuel subsidy, this country wouldn’t even have been able to pay its bills for that month. And not only that, he did not take the money for himself; he gave it to the states,” he said .
Sheriff further insisted that Tinubu deserved commendation rather than criticism for his handling of the economy.
“I don’t take a brief for His Excellency the President, but I can tell you for sure that what President Tinubu has done in this country to move it forward deserves your kudos, not your condemnation,” he said .
On insecurity, Sheriff argued that addressing security challenges should not be seen as the sole responsibility of the Federal Government, saying state governments also have constitutional roles to play.
“And on the issue of insecurity, yes, security is the responsibility of the federal government, but what people don’t realise is that it is also the responsibility of the states. Look at the concurrent legislative list: states also have responsibility for security,” he said .
“In Nigeria, we have over 8,200 wards, and all the institutions of government are in the states. Every state governor controls the local governments, controls district heads, controls the traditional and religious leaders.
“This has to be a partnership, we all have responsibilities. You and I have a responsibility to this country too. We shouldn’t just go around condemning the President whenever there’s insecurity in Nigeria,” Sheriff added.
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