Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has criticised the Federal Government’s economic reforms, arguing that rising poverty shows the need to assess leadership by its impact on citizens rather than by improvements in economic indicators.
Makinde said one presidential term was enough for Nigerians to determine a leader’s priorities and decide whether the government deserved another mandate.
The governor stated this in a newsletter released on Thursday, in which he compared his administration’s approach to governance in Oyo State with the Federal Government’s handling of the economy under President Bola Tinubu.
He acknowledged that the removal of petrol subsidy and the adoption of a more flexible foreign exchange regime were backed by economic arguments but insisted that the consequences for ordinary Nigerians must also be considered.
“Policies tell you what a government wants to change. The order in which it chooses to make those changes tells you how that government thinks,” Makinde said.
He added, “There are never enough resources for government to meet every need at once. So, leadership is about what you choose to do first, what you are prepared to postpone, and who bears the cost of those choices.”
The governor said his administration, which took office in 2019, prioritised the payment of workers’ salaries, pensions and inherited gratuity arrears while pursuing infrastructure development.
According to him, the state’s development roadmap focused on the economy, education, healthcare and security, with the government seeking to ensure that workers and pensioners received their entitlements despite competing demands on public finances.
“We could have said government needed the money for infrastructure and asked workers and pensioners to wait,” he said.
“Instead of choosing between paying people and building infrastructure, we chose to do both. We paid salaries consistently. We regularised pension payments. We began clearing inherited gratuity arrears.”
Makinde said personnel costs alone accounted for about 70 per cent of Oyo State’s federal receipts during the four-year period, adding that his administration explored alternative financing arrangements to fund infrastructure projects.
He cited the Alternative Project Funding Approach, under which contractors financed selected projects upfront while the state government repaid the costs over an agreed period.
“Going back to our test of leadership, you can see clearly what we chose to do first – meet our obligations. And we accepted the fiscal cost of that choice,” he said.
Turning to the Federal Government’s economic policies, Makinde argued that reforms should not be assessed solely by their impact on macroeconomic indicators but also by their effects on citizens’ livelihoods.
“Reform is not only about fixing the numbers. It is also about how people survive the transition,” he said.
The governor claimed that poverty had risen from about 56 per cent in 2023 to around 62 per cent in 2026, representing approximately 23 million additional Nigerians living in poverty.
He said the Federal Government had highlighted assessments by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund indicating improvements in macroeconomic stability but argued that the benefits had not translated sufficiently into improved living standards.
“These 23 million are not just numbers. They are our parents, neighbours, friends and children. Macroeconomic stability has not translated at the same pace into jobs, lower poverty and improved living standards for the majority of Nigerians,” he said.
Makinde added, “That is part of the scorecard the Federal Government must own.”
He maintained that governments must balance structural economic reforms with measures to protect citizens’ ability to earn a living and contribute to economic growth.
“For me, leadership must be able to think about two things at once: what structural change does the economy need? And how do we protect people’s ability to live, work and produce while we make that change?” he said.
The governor argued that Nigerians were entitled to reject a government if its policies failed to deliver the desired results within its first term.
“And if, after four years, a leader has not been able to make those choices work for the people, Nigerians have every right to say: let us try someone else,” he said.
Makinde also linked the argument to his proposed institutional reforms, saying a single presidential term could be sufficient to initiate changes across key sectors if the administration had a clear agenda and measurable targets.
He said his proposed agenda would outline what Nigerians should expect in the first three years of implementation and how progress would be assessed.
Explaining the importance of the next election, Makinde said voters would have to decide whether they agreed with the government’s approach to leadership and were satisfied with its priorities.
“So, the next election is ultimately about two questions: do you agree with how this government is thinking? Are you satisfied with what it has chosen to prioritise?” he said.
He urged eligible Nigerians to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards and participate in the election.