Veteran journalist and former presidential aide, Laolu Akande has called on the Bola Tinubu-led administration to collaborate with state governors as a matter of necessity in order to achieve its objectives.
Akande’s remarks were made during his appearance on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, where he referred to President Tinubu’s speech at the Presidential retreat for Ministers, Presidential Aides, and Civil Servants.
Akande commended the President’s focus on two crucial areas, stating, “If you look at the President’s speech, he highlighted two important areas, and I think he must be commended for that. The impact needs to be seen, he highlighted health and education.”
He went on to discuss the complexities of effective collaboration, particularly in the federal government agencies responsible for health and education. Akande pointed out that these issues are related to human capital development, highlighting the necessity for collaboration with state Governors to address concurrent issues, as it is at the state level that the impacts will be most profoundly felt.
He stressed the significance of understanding that these are issues that the federal government alone cannot resolve. Akande emphasized the need to involve state Governors and their teams in the process and called for a detailed plan that highlights the importance of effective collaboration with the states.
He suggested that the President’s speech should serve as the foundation for discussions at the National Economic Council (NEC) to develop a work plan and a concrete action plan for enhancing collaboration in the areas of health and education.
He said, “Now, the interesting thing to your question is that those are areas where not only will there be a need for effective collaboration within the federal government agencies that deal with health and education, these are human capital development issues but more so, and I hope the president and his team understand this, you’ve got to work with the state Governors for health and education, these are concurrent issues. It is actually in the states that the impacts will be felt.
“So it’s such a big deal for the federal government to understand that these are issues, the president highlighted education and health. These are issues that the federal government alone cannot deliver, there’s no way the federal government alone can deliver on education, and there’s no way the federal government alone can deliver on health, so you have to carry the governor along. You have to carry their own team, there must be a plan that emphasizes the need for effective collaboration with the state.
“So you expect that the president’s speech ought to be taken to NEC and see what is the work plan, what is the plan of action to ensure that to bring about the kind of collaboration on the areas of health and education.”
Akande also attributed the public outrage surrounding the allocations in the 2023 supplementary budget to a lack of effective communication. The N2.17 trillion supplementary budget, presented by President Bola Tinubu and recently passed by the Senate, sparked strong reactions from Nigerians, with the allocation of N5.5 billion for a presidential yacht dominating the public discourse.
He explained, “It’s a communication problem, and I’ll explain why. The budget we are discussing is the supplementary budget, and these issues related to the yacht and similar matters appear to have been in progress within the Navy. They are part of the Navy Fleet. I conducted some research when I saw it, and I’m not entirely sure that the President himself is fully aware of all the details.”
He further added, “So some of these things are communication problems, so for instance you know when that information goes out, somebody should have explained that well we’re not just purchasing this yacht you know for luxury this is something that is part of what our naval fleet does.”
Regarding the use of loans to fund budgets, Akande expressed a nuanced perspective, stating, “I believe it’s not necessarily a bad thing to seek a loan, especially when facing a clear fiscal crisis. I believe that the President, through the Oyedele tax reform, understands that we can still generate substantial revenue in this country.
“If we consider the ratio, we can do much better. However, in the interim, for a government committed to taking action, taking loans is acceptable as long as they are not allocated to recurrent expenses, such as salaries. If the loans are intended for development purposes, especially at concessionary rates, it’s a reasonable approach.”
Akande concluded by emphasizing the importance of transparency, effective communication, and sensitivity from leaders, particularly when the government is urging citizens to tighten their belts. He pointed out that situations like legislators receiving 160 million naira worth of SUVs highlighted the need for responsible communication and an awareness of public sentiment.