Tinubu to Media Executives: Hold states, LGAs accountable as you do to me

President Bola Tinubu yesterday urged media executives to also scrutinize state and local governments, the way they scrutinize his administration. 

The President said states and local government areas under his administration enjoy greater financial autonomy. 

President made the appeal, while hosting Newspapers Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria,NPAN, Media executives and Nigeria Guild of Editors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said: “We’ve opened up the principle of federalism to the extent that local governments are now getting their money. 

“But how they use it is in your hand, so don’t bombard me alone. Look at local government too, and equally, the sub-national.”

President Tinubu said no state in Nigeria is currently borrowing money to pay workers’ salaries, attributing the development to reforms implemented by his administration.

“Today, there is no state that is borrowing to pay salaries of employees. 

“Yes, we can complain it’s not enough. 

We can complain we are not where we should be, but we have to manage what we have to sustain today, survive tomorrow, and make progress,” the President said.

The 36 states have historically struggled with salary payments, with many resorting to bailouts and loans from the Federal Government to meet wage obligations, particularly during periods of low oil revenue and economic downturns.

The Tinubu administration said it has increased allocations to states and local governments through higher crude oil production, improved revenue collection by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, now the National Revenue Service, and direct payment of local government allocations following a Supreme Court judgment in July 2024 that granted fiscal autonomy. 

He thanked media proprietors for their relentless criticism, which he said challenged him to perform better despite the harsh commentary during his early days in office.

“Thank you for inspiring me and challenging me in critical moments of my life. 

If I look at various barrages of negative comments as opposed to positive aspects of the assignment, I shouldn’t be here standing. That is the truth. 

“You didn’t spare me, but you challenged me, provoked that intellectual curiosity of a leader that must perform,” he stated.

The President confessed that he reads all newspapers daily, describing it as “an addiction.”

“There is no morning that I ever leave my house without going through the newspapers. 

“It’s an addiction. I read all of you, might not be in full detail,