Hold governors accountable over increased allocations, Falae tells Nigerians

— Says Yoruba must complete eight-year presidential tenure By Dayo Johnson, Akure The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) senatorial candidate for Ondo Central, Hon. Sunday Falae, has urged Nigerians to hold state governors accountable for the management of increased federal allocations, insisting that the funds received by states should translate into visible development.

Falae, who spoke in an interview in Akure, Ondo State, said Nigerians had not done enough to demand accountability from governors despite the significant increase in funds accruing to state governments under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. “We are not holding them responsible. The money they are getting does not match the development we are seeing,” he said.

He argued that the Federal Government had limited powers to directly hold governors accountable because of the constitutional immunity enjoyed by state chief executives, stressing that citizens must take the lead in demanding explanations for the expenditure of public funds. “What are state governments doing with all the money they are getting? That is the problem,” he said.

Citing the Owena-Alade-Idanre road in Ondo State as an example, Falae alleged that the project had been awarded and paid for but remained unconstructed. “That road should have been constructed. The money today, we don’t know where it is. The road was not constructed and it was approved and paid. So the money went to somebody’s pocket,” he alleged. He called for accountability at all levels of government, saying governors, senators and local government chairmen should be made to explain how public funds allocated to their respective jurisdictions were spent.

On the 2027 presidential election, the APM candidate said the South-West should complete its eight-year presidential tenure, arguing that the region should retain the presidency for another four years after Tinubu’s first term. Falae said his position was one of the reasons he declined to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC), explaining that he was unwilling to campaign against Tinubu.

“I want us as Yorubas to finish eight years in office. Buhari finished his eight years. So the Yoruba man must finish his eight years,” he said. He explained that he eventually joined the APM, the party of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who is its presidential candidate. According to him, Makinde’s emergence as president would also ensure that a Yoruba person completes the remaining four years of the eight-year tenure.

Falae expressed support for Tinubu’s re-election bid but described Makinde as an even stronger option, citing his energy, political antecedents and performance as governor of Oyo State. “Does Tinubu deserve it? Yes. Does Makinde deserve it? Even better. He has the energy, and he has done well in Oyo State,” he said. He, however, admitted that he had previously campaigned for former President Muhammadu Buhari but later regretted the decision, maintaining that the principle of allowing the South-West to complete eight years in power remained important to him.

Explaining his decision to contest the Ondo Central senatorial seat, Falae said the district had suffered inadequate representation, particularly in the last four years. He said his consultations across the six local government areas in the senatorial district revealed widespread dissatisfaction with the performance of the incumbent senator. According to him, residents repeatedly complained that they were not being adequately represented at the National Assembly.

“I am interested because I am under-represented right now. The person we have there now is not representing us the way he should. Everybody is complaining,” he said.