Falana Calls on Nigerians to Demand Accountability as Government Revenue Rises

Femi Falana wants Nigerians to stop treating every public problem as a matter for Abuja. The human rights lawyer said citizens should demand answers from federal, state and local authorities as government revenue increases without improving living conditions.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Falana pointed to a road leading to Afe Babalola University in Ekiti State. Residents have asked the Federal Government to repair it, he said, even though the local government received about 5.4 billion naira between January and May. Falana questioned why part of that allocation could not fund the work, which he said should cost less than 500 million naira.

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I was just reading some news about a particular road in Ekiti State, the road that leads to Afe Babalola University. And everybody there is asking the Abuja people to come and fix the road, whereas between January and May this year, that local government has taken about N5.4 billion.

“I was just reading some news about a particular road in Ekiti State, the road that leads to Afe Babalola University. And everybody there is asking the Abuja people to come and fix the road, whereas between January and May this year, that local government has taken about N5.4 billion,” he said.

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We must begin to ask questions of the local government, the state government, and the Federal Government.

Falana argued that state and local governments should handle responsibilities within their jurisdictions instead of relying on the Federal Government and later seeking refunds for projects. “We must begin to ask questions of the local government, the state government, and the Federal Government,” he said.

He also challenged the benefits of fuel-subsidy removal, saying Nigerians facing worsening conditions should not be told indefinitely to wait for economic reforms to pay off. “If you say we are making more money, we don’t want to go back to the era of the fuel subsidy scam. Where are the benefits? It’s a fallacy being told to wait and wait and wait. People are dying,” Falana said. He added that the $10 billion a year previously earmarked for fuel imports should have been saved, but that much of it instead goes toward debt servicing.

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If you say we are making more money, we don’t want to go back to the era of the fuel subsidy scam. Where are the benefits? It’s a fallacy being told to wait and wait and wait. People are dying.