Prominent rights advocate, Femi Falana (SAN), has called on President Bola Tinubu to move beyond appeals and take direct, measurable steps to combat poverty in Nigeria. He issued the statement on Sunday, the 3rd of July, 2025.
Falana’s intervention followed remarks made by the President to governors of the All Progressives Congress, in which Tinubu said:
“Nigerians are still complaining at the grassroots. To you, the governors, you must wet the grass more and deliver progressive change to Nigerians. May God bless our democracy and grant us more fertile lands.”
In response, Falana argued that true leadership begins at the centre.
“Instead of begging state governments to ‘wet ground more’, President Bola Tinubu is urged to ensure that the National Social Investment Programme Agency Act is adopted and enacted into law by the 36 state governments,” he said.
He expressed concern over the underfunding of social protection programmes while larger sums continue to be allocated to elite projects.
“A government that recently claimed to have spent the sum of ₦39 billion for the renovation of the International Conference Centre at Abuja at the Federal Capital Territory cannot justify the allocation of ₦32.7 billion to fund the National Social Investment Programmes for 2025 to support the 133 million people that are said to be multidimensionally poor in the country,” Falana said.
He challenged both federal and state authorities to rethink their fiscal priorities, stating that the resources to act already exist. Citing figures from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, he noted that over ₦11.19 trillion was shared among all levels of government in the last year alone.
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Falana also referenced BudgIT’s findings that alleged over 11,000 suspicious projects worth ₦6.93 trillion were inserted into the 2025 federal budget by the National Assembly. According to him, these padded figures underscore the misplacement of national priorities.
He questioned how a system could justify large payouts to legislators “₦21 million is paid monthly to each senator and ₦15 million to each member of the House of Representatives” while essential social spending is left insufficient.
To reverse this trend, Falana urged the Federal Executive Council to act immediately.
“Therefore, the Federal Executive Council should, as a matter of urgency, approve not less than ₦5 trillion to fund the National Social Investment Programme,” he said.
For greater accountability, Falana proposed that fund management should be a joint effort between the government and credible non-state actors.
“The management of the fund should not be left solely in the hands of government officials, but should involve elected representatives of trade unions and credible civil society organisations to ensure transparency and effectiveness,” he advised.