For the first time in the history of Nigerian politics, Mr. President seems to be enjoying the support from all political office-holders including those from the opposition camp.

The National Assembly has never dared to challenge him as its two chambers have approved every one of Mr. President?s wishes, including the ones their constituencies have been crying foul over.

The governors have also found delight in pouring encomium on Mr. President at every turn.

The reason for the above is well captured by Umo Eno, governor of Akwa Ibom State, who has repeatedly sung the praise of the President.

Governor Eno has been attributing the huge projects he has executed in the state to the increased federal revenue allocation.

But many, especially indigenes of the state, think that it was President Bola Ahmed Tinubu?s huge allocations that drove him to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the People?s Democratic Party (PDP). It is believed that it is the too much allocation that is responsible for the cordial relationship between the president and the governors today.

Truly, Nigeria?s states and local governments, under President Bola Tinubu, are witnessing an unprecedented surge in allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), which increased from N3.58 trillion in 2023, to N5.81 trillion in 2024, a year-on-year increase of about 62 percent.

Yet, the largesse continued to soar in 2025, with states receiving N3.425 trillion between January and June.

Meanwhile, pundits attribute the windfall to: subsidy removal in mid-2023 that freed up significant oil revenues previously absorbed by petrol subsidy payments; surge in NNPC remittances by 98 percent in the first half of 2025; and rise in Value Added Tax (VAT) collections. But they equally decried that the huge allocations to the governors amount to ?robbing Peter to pay Paul? as the masses are not feeling the impact.

They also regretted that despite an obvious ?bottomless pit? allocations, the governors are still looking up to the federal government to solve their problems, especially infrastructural development and insecurity.

According to Bem Hembafan, a retired soldier, and security expert, with the huge allocations, money is no longer an issue for all the 36 state governors, but how to deploy the funds into good use, secure and lift the people.

?I love Nuhu Ribadu?s call to action for the governors on security of their states. With the huge allocations from the federal government, each state can improve its security architecture, engage critical stakeholders and garner the needed support. You don?t always win a war by guns, dialogue works better and Governor Uba Sani has proved this in Kaduna,? Hembafan, who runs a security outfit for private estates in Abuja, said.

Speaking further, he decried that building modern stations and buying hundreds of Hilux vans and donating them to security agencies in their states are not enough, as that is often ?settlement? for the contractors who were engaged to execute them.

?Now, the governors are building stations, buying and donating more operational vehicles to security agencies and are boasting of it, but the stations and vehicles are run-down within six months of the donation. I am not saying this to despise my colleagues, but to say that the governors should do more than the donations to improve security in their states,? Hembafan said.

Toeing the same line, Chijoke Umelahi, an Abuja-based lawyer, said that the states and FCT Abuja were not doing enough to secure lives and property in their domain, considering their huge allocations now.

He argued that with all the security agencies headquartered in Abuja, all the security personnel with intimidating guns and vehicles stationed on strategic places, yet there are still pockets of insecurity in Abuja, especially kidnapping that is getting out of hand.

The above points to the gaps in the security architecture, which, according to him, do not necessarily need funds to fill, but efficient strategies and collaborations.

The worst cases for him are Plateau and Benue states, which seem to have defied all solutions as more people die every day under the watch of security personnel, despite multiple security posts, and noise of huge funds expended on security by the governors.

?It is clear now that guns only will not fight insecurity, but humans with the right frame of mind, well-boosted morale, whose future is secured while in the frontline and efficient strategy.

If these fail, the governors should put their offices on line and query the federal government?s sincerity in the fight of insecurity,? he said.

According to him, the governors should be bold to step on toes after spending huge funds on security and little is achieved, especially to find out if there is sabotage, name and shame the culprits and insist on prosecutions to avert reoccurrence.

?Governor Uba Sani seems to be doing this quietly and he is getting results. Sadly, he is spending less than his predecessor and still getting better results.

?It is not all about the funds, but commitment to monitoring the deployment, welfare of security personnel in the frontline and regular engagement with stakeholders across the state,? Umelahi said.

Toeing the same line, Godwin Amahaotu, a serving security officer, explained that buying operational vans without boosting the morale of the officers out there, without making them to own the fight, and without insurance has always ended up in sabotage of such efforts.

?We are happy to work with good operational vehicles, but we also have families and needs to meet, which means that we may not always be in the right frame of mind to work and you know what means,? Amahaotu said.

He argued that If a state augments what the officers earn, engage them on regular dialogue and see to their needs, the officers will own the fight against insecurity in that state.

While many cite instance with Kaduna, the reality is that the level of insecurity in the state has significantly reduced, with the rescue of kidnapped people, elimination of terrorists, reclaiming of communities and farmlands hitherto taken over by criminals and terrorists, and recent surrender of some of the bandits.

Citizens and residents are gradually returning to their communities.

All these are due to effective stakeholder management, people?s skills, and relationship management by Governor Uba Sani, which many urged other governors in the North-West zone, across the country and even the federal government, to emulate.

Umelahi noted that the escalating insecurity in Imo and Anambra states is due to the lack of buy-in the governors? strategies by the people and the security agencies as well.

?The Imo governor stays here in Abuja as well as half of the governors across the country. So, they often lose touch with the people, they depend on reports that are often doctored by their aids to impress them and that is why the less result in the fight against insecurity.

Soludo has failed to bring his economic magic wand to his state because the people seem not to connect with him, governance is not academic, you need direct and frequent engagement with the stakeholders to succeed, this where most governors fail. They keep hoping that Abuja will always save them,? Umelahi said.

Speaking on the direct impact of security on the economies of the states, Adekola Ayeni, an economist, noted that apart from security of lives and property, a safe environment attracts investments to a state.

In this regard, he noted that the efforts of governors like Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Uba Sani of Kaduna, Peter Mbah of Enugu, Alex Otti of Abia, Seyi Makinde of Oyo and a few others, at improving security in their states beyond the rhetorics of vehicle donations, are attracting investments.

For him, it is not a surprise that the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has listed Kaduna State as one of the five out of 36 states and the FCT in Nigeria that attracted Foreign Direct Investments in the first quarter of this year, just two years of his administration.

?Kaduna?s $4.06 million foreign direct investment points to safety, peace and conducive environment for living and business. But this was impossible during the Nasir El-Rufai?s administration when the state recorded no FDI due to the escalating insecurity.

?Enugu is also opening up now for investment with the new airline, new hotels, international conference centre, partnerships here and there because of the security. For me, it is the most secured in the South-East and one of the most peaceful in Nigeria today because Mbah invested in security and is on hand to monitor it.

So, it is not rocket science but finding out what is working, blocking the loopholes and getting the buy-in of the people and security personnel in the frontline,? Ayeni said.

He also commended the Lagos State government for its continued commitment at providing safe environment for the residents and especially businesses, which accounts for its year-on-year attraction of highest foreign direct investments in the country.

?Lagos has been the most peaceful and safest state in the country for a long time now because of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), which it has consistently funded,? he said, while recommending Lagos? approach and consistency to other states.

It would be recalled that the LSSTF once noted that it requires at least N15 billion yearly to effectively secure the state, and the state has leverage cordial relationships with its high-profile residents and corporate organisations to boost its security funds, away from the huge internally generated revenue and soaring federal allocations.

In 2024, UBA donated N500 million to the fund, while Femi Otedola, billionaire indigene of the state, also donated N1 billion in early 2024, among other donations.

As states are not allowed to establish state police, some are now following the Lagos example to establish their various state security trust funds, as some observers are insisting that the governors have enough funds now and should not hope on private or corporate donations to funds security of lives and property in their domains.

But beyond the funds, Hembafan noted that the governors, as the chief security officers of their states, should be proactive at ensuring security, rather waiting or blaming the federal government.

?Governor Hycienth Alia of Benue State, my state, stopped Peter Obi from visiting the state sometime this year, saying Obi?s safety was not guaranteed. Of course, Obi cancelled the visit. Now, why can?t our governors stop invaders, foreign machinery and bandits from coming to their states. Governor Alia has exercised his power as the chief security officer of the state, but he should continue to exercise such powers over the real criminal elements in the state, and other governors against enemies of peace across the country. They should not politicise the insecurity issue and funds because innocent people are dieing every day for their actions or inactions,? Hembafan said.

Umelahi also noted that no matter how little their power is in terms of the country?s security architecture, governors, as the chief security officers of their states, still have power that can improve security in their domain if they are proactive and willing to exercise such powers without fearing the consequences from Abuja.

A concerned Nigerian who spoke on condition of anonymity expressed sadness that state governors are claiming to be helpless in the fight against terror in their domain.

?I think it is unbelievable for any state governor to come out to say that his hands were tied in the fight against insecurity. Why are they called chief security officers of their individual states? I was totally pissed off when I heard the Zamfara governor say ?I know where bandits are, but security agents take orders from Abuja.? He may be right in what he said but it is a shame that he should say it. Do you know the irony of it all? None of the first term governors would say because of the insecurity threat in their state, they were tired of being governor, and that they would not seek re-election in 2027. But you can?t see such thing; they will want to come back. They are just playing cheap politics with everything,? the concerned Nigerian said. (BusinessDay)

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