With the 2027 general election drawing closer, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, has urged Nigerians to hold their state governors responsible for poor delivery of democracy’s benefits. He said the call was necessary because states and local governments have been receiving increased allocations from the federation account since President Bola Tinubu took office in 2023.
Speaking at the 34th Convocation of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, Idris emphasized that states and local governments should complement the development projects being rolled out nationwide by the federal government.
Addressing the governors directly, he said, “To retrace your steps go back to the drawing boards to give your people dividends of democracy.”
He warned that any governor who failed to use the federal government’s reforms to plan for sustainable state development would be seen as having “deliberately denied the citizens of their states the needed growth and progress.”
Idris also urged governors to “stop blaming the president” for shortcomings in their states.
At the federal level, the minister highlighted that Tinubu’s administration has implemented reforms that transformed the country’s political and economic landscape, a fact recognized by international agencies and foreign governments.
He added that the Tinubu government has made it clear that opportunities created under these reforms are open to all Nigerians, regardless of agenda, age, creed, ethnicity, language, or region.
Earlier, in his convocation lecture titled, “Youth and Nation Building: Navigating Opportunities in an Era of National Reforms,” Idris encouraged young people to take advantage of the various reforms introduced by Tinubu, particularly in education, to empower themselves.
He noted that these reforms are generating widespread opportunities across sectors, making young Nigerians among the biggest beneficiaries.
“The biggest and most visible opportunities created for young Nigerians in the last two years include low-cost, long-term financing for students of higher institutions through the National Education Loan Fund (NELFUND),” he said.
Idris added that since its launch in May 2024, NELFUND has received nearly 1.5 million applications, with over 900,000 students already benefiting and more still applying.
He revealed that over N174 billion has been disbursed as tuition and monthly upkeep allowances, stressing that through NELFUND, “We have incontrovertible proof that the president’s Renewed Hope Agenda is real, functional, impactful, and transformational.”
The convocation ceremony saw over 5,000 students graduate, with 111 earning First Class honors.
