The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has called on Nigerians to hold their State Governors and Local Government Chairmen accountable for improved welfare and grassroots development.
Speaking in Abuja at the public presentation of “Vicious Red Circle”, a book on human trafficking authored by Alex Oriaku, Professor Yilwatda said subnational leaders now receive significantly higher allocations from the federation and must be pressed to deliver tangible results.
He said; “No Governor in Nigeria collects less than three to fourtimes what they used to collect before.
“Two years ago, monthly allocations hovered around ₦400 billion; today, it’s over ₦2.2 trillion. Governors can and shoulddo more for their people.”
The APC Chairman noted that while the Nigerian Government’s economic reforms such as the removal of fuel subsidies may seem tough, they are necessary for long-term growth.
He emphasised that theTinubu administration remains focused on reviving the economy and improving citizens’ livelihoods.
“We in the APC like doing the unthinkable, making changes that seem unreasonable at first but are designed to transform lives,” Professor Yilwatda added.
The event also spotlighted the growing menace of human trafficking.
Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mohammed Mohammed, described it as a transnational crime comparable to drug and arms trafficking, urging a “whole-of-society” response.
Reviewing the 198-page book, Dr. Ike Neliaku, President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, linked human trafficking to corruption and exploitation, urging Nigerians to reject the “culture of silence.”
The author, Alex Oriaku said his book seeks to shed light on the cycle of desperation and exploitation that sustains human trafficking.
He described it as “abridge of empathy between global crisis and human reality.”