Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has stated that no Nigerian president in the country’s history has provided as much support to state governments as President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Governor Sani made the assertion during his acceptance speech after being named “Best Governor of the Year” at the Leadership Annual Conference and Awards. He directly linked the federal government’s approach to state fiscal management under Tinubu to his own administration’s operations.
“No President in the history of Nigeria has supported states like President Tinubu,” Sani said. “That is the reason today some of us have been running our states without taking loans.”
The governor’s comment suggests a fundamental shift in federal-state financial relations, a critical issue in Nigeria’s federal system where states traditionally depend on federal allocations and often resort to borrowing to cover operational costs and development projects.
This claim follows the Tinubu administration’s announcement of a ₦5 billion monthly grant to all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, a policy initiated in 2023 to alleviate fiscal pressures. The grant is part of broader economic reforms aimed at restoring fiscal stability.
Historically, Nigerian states have frequently relied on domestic and foreign loans to manage budgets, especially during periods of economic downturn or delayed federal allocations. The increasing debt profile of sub-national governments has been a subject of national discourse and concern among economists and policy analysts.
Governor Sani’s award and his subsequent remarks position the Tinubu administration’s support as a defining factor in enabling state-level governance without additional borrowing. The statement also implicitly contrasts the current fiscal environment with past administrations, though specifics on loan avoidance metrics were not provided.
The assertion is poised to generate discussion among political analysts and public finance experts regarding the sustainability of state budgets, the long-term impact of federal interventions, and the actual independence loan-free governance affords states amidst persistent economic challenges. observers will likely examine the budgetary practices of other states to assess the broader applicability of Sani’s claim.
