Independence Day Nigeria 2020: Disappointed Nigerians Should Hold State Government Accountable -Fashola

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola says Nigerians who are disappointed in President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration should hold the state and local governments accountable if their basic needs must be promptly met.

Speaking during his appearance on a Channels Television programme, Fashola held that disappointed Nigerians were seeking results in the wrong place.

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According to him, governance is not magic and the results they promptly need can only be delivered by state and local government which are the closest to grassroots.

The minister said “Governance is not magic. It is the act of the possible and our responsibility is to always project hope. Perhaps those who feel that way (disappointed) should be made to realize that what we expect of the Nigerian Federal government lies more with the state government and the local government…some of the most basic things.

“What we should do is to focus on the government that is closest to us. I will urge people to go and read the constitution, the powers the President has are about 45, many of them are categorised as power but they are even functions and duties.

“The government that can transform us and give us what we want quickly are the government closest to us – state and local government,” he said.

The minister noted that basic infrastructure like primary healthcare, primary education, among others which Nigerians clamour for, can only be delivered by state and local governments.

“Looking for the Federal Government or a magic President is why we seem to have been disappointed. We are looking for the results in the wrong place,” Fashola said.

Speaking further, he urged Nigerians to read the constitution to better understand the responsibilities of state and Federal government.

Fashola added that the provision of water supply, primary healthcare, basic education, among others are matters within the local and state government, just as he pointed out that the duties rest upon the state governors.