Athan Achonu, former senator and Labour Party governorship candidate in Imo State, has accused state governors of failing to show transparency in managing their share of the fuel subsidy removal proceeds.
“Most governors have shown no convincing evidence of using these funds to impact human development. Immunity makes them unaccountable, That is why more allocation should go to local governments who can be held responsible in court.” Achonu said at a press briefing on Monday.
He commended the July 2024 Supreme Court judgment granting financial independence to local governments, describing it as one of the most significant democratic advances since 1999.
However, he warned that autonomy would only be meaningful if elections were conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and not state electoral bodies.
Achonu further urged civic groups like the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to monitor local council funds to ensure grassroots accountability.
Turning to the national question, Achonu said Nigeria must constitutionalise zoning of the presidency across the six geopolitical zones to guarantee inclusivity and political stability.
“To achieve lasting inclusivity and stability, our zoning arrangement must be constitutionalised. It should be made operational not just for the north and south, but to deliberately rotate the presidency amongst the six geopolitical zones, starting with the two zones (south-east and north-east) who have not held that position since our democratic dispensation,” he said.
Achonu explained that when it is the turn of a region, it should serve a full eight years.
He added: “If a president underperforms, the other five zones should have the power to trigger impeachment, but the replacement must still come from that same zone. This is to ensure stability, and not when one zone is ruling, another person from a different zone will jump into the ring to scatter it.”
The ex-lawmaker also pressed for diaspora voting, describing it as critical for inclusivity. He recalled sponsoring a bill in the Senate to grant Nigerians abroad the right to vote, noting their economic contributions.
“It is worthy to highlight the rising significance of the Nigerian diaspora to the nation’s economic development, where it is on record that the official remittances from Nigerians abroad hit \$20.93 billion in 2024, 4-times the value of Nigeria’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for the same period,” he said.
He also backed ongoing tax reforms and the federal government’s 30 percent local processing requirement for raw materials before export, saying the policy would create jobs, strengthen technology capacity, and curb illegal mining.
