Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, has urged Nigerians to stop blaming state governors alone for the country’s worsening economic hardship, saying the Federal Government controls more than half of the federation’s monthly revenue.
Radda made the remarks in an interview with Radio France Internationale (RFI) Hausa, as reported by Channel TV on Tuesday. He explained that the current revenue-sharing formula leaves state and local governments struggling to meet rising demands.
“Whenever there is hardship, people blame governors and local governments. But when revenue is shared, 52 per cent goes to the Federal Government. It is the remaining 48 per cent that is shared among the 36 states and 774 local governments,” he said.
The Governor noted that for decades, the Federal Government has received the larger share of federation revenue and questioned how those funds have been managed. “For decades, the Federal Government has been receiving the larger share of federation revenue. So the question Nigerians should be asking is: where has the bulk of that money gone?” he added.
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Addressing allegations of corruption against state officials, Radda cautioned against generalisations. “Leadership is about individual integrity. It is wrong to generalise and label everyone the same way. Public office holders would ultimately be held accountable for their actions,” he said.
Radda also defended his administration’s continued investment in capital projects despite prevailing economic challenges, stressing that infrastructure development helps stimulate the grassroots economy through job creation. “When you execute capital projects, you create jobs and bring money down to the people at the grassroots because labourers earn wages, food vendors make sales, and suppliers benefit,” he explained.
According to the Governor, the impact of these projects is already visible across Katsina State’s local government areas. “If you go to the local governments today, you will see a lot of economic activity because funds have reached the communities,” he said.