President Bola Tinubu has urged the 36 governors to comply with the Supreme Court judgment by handing over local government allocations to the councils. He emphasized that there would not be autonomy for councils without a funded mandate.
Speaking at the 14th APC National Caucus meeting at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja, Tinubu assured international partners that Nigeria will establish state police to address security challenges. He encouraged governors and party leaders to be flexible in their actions and to engage with their communities, including rural areas.
Tinubu stated, “You must yield and continue to promote, tolerate and be flexible, get involved in whatever is happening in your various states, up to local government level.” He expressed confidence in passing state police legislation, stating, “I have a party that will make it happen.”
He addressed the recent Supreme Court ruling, urging party leaders to see how they could position the country and their party effectively, adding that local government autonomy must be funded to be effective.
The President also expressed condolences to the Bayelsa State government over the death of its deputy governor and called for increased female representation within the party.
Earlier, the APC national chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, praised the party’s rising national acceptance, highlighting recent high-profile defections and the launch of an electronic membership registration system. He thanked Tinubu for his support and called on stakeholders to rally behind the party’s expansion efforts ahead of upcoming congresses.
The APC National Caucus serves as a strategic meeting for the party’s top leadership, including governors and key stakeholders. Notably, six governors who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC attended the meeting. The President of the Senate and the Speaker emphasized the importance of unity and equal opportunity within the party, with Akpabio underscoring the respect owed to governors as party leaders in their states.
