In a scathing critique of current governance practices, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has taken aim at Nigerian state governors, accusing them of squandering public resources and failing to deliver critical infrastructure.
Kolawole Oluwadare, Deputy Director of SERAP, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise, described governors’ conduct as out of step with the realities facing the Nigerian populace.
He noted, “The reality on the ground today is that most Nigerians perceive the governors as being profligate. It speaks to the level of poverty in Nigeria.”
The SERAP official emphasized that the President, as Commander-in-Chief, bears both the constitutional and moral responsibility to intervene where governance is failing at the state level.
“And the President really doesn’t need the US government to say that before he knows that, and that is why he’s the C-in-C, and that is why he superintends over the governors,” Oluwadare remarked.
His comments come amid increasing public discontent over deteriorating infrastructure, insecurity, and worsening poverty. He explained that many governors have opted to build grandiose projects that serve no immediate public interest.
“That’s how you see governors will prioritise building big buildings at the expense of building infrastructure that will benefit the people,” he lamented.
Oluwadare decried the erosion of accountability and public trust, attributing it to longstanding impunity and disregard for constitutional responsibilities. He called for a reinvigoration of institutional checks and balances.