Some governors convert subsidy cash to dollars for personal gain – Ex-Rep

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

Honourable Ehiozuwa Johnson Agbonayinma is a Commissioner in the Code of Conduct Bureau. Agbonayinma represented Egor/Ikpoba-Okha Federal Constituency of Edo State in the House of Representatives.

In this interview, he accuses some state governors of diverting state allocations to personal use. He also blames governors for frustrating efforts by the Federal Government to make life easier for the people. Excerpts:

What is your advice to government in this 2026 to make sure people can breathe easily?
The issue of the Federal Republic of Nigeria concerns all of us collectively. This is not about Mr. President or EJ; it’s about all of us putting our heads together to pray for this nation and stand for it, because if the country succeeds, it benefits all of us. Mr. President cannot solve the problems alone.

For instance, look at the issue of fuel subsidy removal. Money has been saved, and in his wisdom, he decided to send it back to the Nigerian people through their governors. But I’m telling you, it’s unfortunate—most of these governors cannot even account for the money sent by Mr. President. Yes, some are working, like Governor Monday Okpebholo. I’m not saying this because I’m from Edo State; there are a lot of governors trying their best. My governor is doing his possible best, putting money to good use. But many governors, as soon as the money comes, go to Bureau de Change—and they are not helping the President.

I remember when Mr. President said people in various states should ask their governors what they have used the money for, instead of always pointing fingers at the center. President Bola Tinubu—but what about the governors? We have 36 governors, plus the FCT. Hate him or like him, the Minister of the FCT is trying his best, but look at other states—are they doing what they are supposed to do? Mr. President made a pronouncement challenging Nigerians to ask their governors how state allocations are being expended. Some state governors have received billions of naira that cannot be accounted for, yet we blame the centre for everything. For God’s sake, we are sitting on a keg of gunpowder. We face hunger and starvation together. I’m not excluded, all of us suffer the consequences. So it is best for us to reason together, regardless of political affiliation or religious background. What is important is that we are all one.

As Nigerians, we call our country Nigeria, and we stand as one. Anybody thinking otherwise does not mean well for this nation. We should pray for our flag, pray for the country, stand for the country, stop abusing the government at the centre, and stop insulting Nigeria.

Some have argued that Mr. President should have put in place a mechanism to checkmate the excesses of the governors before releasing such humongous sums from petrol subsidy to them and ensure judicious spending of state allocations. What is your take?
Don’t forget there are three tiers of government — the local government, states, and federal — and they are supposed to be autonomous. Unfortunately, local government areas have been deprived of their right to exist, even though the President has done everything humanly possible to ensure local government autonomy. But some governors are still frustrating those efforts and have hijacked allocations to local governments.

On putting in place a mechanism to checkmate governors’ excesses, there is no need to duplicate functions; there are anti-corruption agencies. We already have the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission), the ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission), and the Code of Conduct Bureau. What is needed is to strengthen these agencies, especially the Code of Conduct Bureau. It needs to be strengthened because its mandate is very strategic. If we really want to fight corruption, that agency is enough to keep everybody in check in this country. Our major problem is corruption, which has eaten deep. If care is not taken, it will consume all of us.

Are you insinuating there is corruption in how money allocated to states and local government areas is spent?
Without being told, you don’t need to ask that question—it’s an understatement. With the money sent to various states by Mr. President, it should be enough to put food on everybody’s table, make Nigerians jubilate, and enjoy the dividends of democracy, knowing Mr. President is doing well. Unfortunately, the money doesn’t go to the people or local governments—it’s diverted.

The point I’m raising is that yes, Mr. President has done his part; others, especially governors, also need to do theirs. This blame game or pointing fingers at the center alone will not help. Is anybody challenging the governors who are not working? Yes, some are working—what about those who are not? What about the ministers who are not working? What about those at the helm of affairs whom Mr. President appointed—not only the governors? What about directors and MDAs (Ministries, Departments and Agencies?) Who monitors them? Who oversees them? What are they doing? Can Mr. President be in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Edo, and Kaduna at the same time? There is division of labour and teamwork. The youths are suffering. Nigerians are suffering. It’s not that money hasn’t been made available to each state.

Unfortunately, nobody is saying this: the money saved from subsidy removal was given to the people through the states. By now, every state should be booming. Every citizen should be jubilating and rejoicing that the messiah (President Tinubu) has come. Unfortunately, the money to the states has been hijacked.

Don’t you think state Houses of Assembly have roles to play in checkmating governors’ excesses?
How do you ask the state House of Assembly to checkmate the governors when most of them have been pocketed? For instance, if local governments were functioning, I remember when I was in the House of Reps, we worked so hard to pass the local government autonomy bill. Some state Houses of Assembly voted it down on instructions from their governors.

What is your advice to the President in this regard, to ensure the money sent to states is utilized properly?
If you ask me—like I said before on different fora—the money being sent to states recently should be tied to specific projects and awarded to contractors of repute. Most governors are diverting the money to their private pockets, to the detriment of all Nigerians. But don’t forget, I said some governors are doing excellently well. I cannot mention all, but the majority are doing just nothing—and those are the ones not helping Mr. President; they are giving him a bad name. If everybody is on the same page, there’s no reason Nigerians should be suffering.

So, let Nigerians start asking questions: ask their governors what they are doing with state allocations. Let them channel the energy used to question the government at the centre to also challenge their governors to account for state allocations. It is their constitutional right, their fundamental human right. They are Nigerians; they deserve to know how the money sent to them is being used—what projects it has been spent on.

What’s your take on the US President’s involvement in tackling insecurity in Nigeria?
As a matter of fact, I wrote an appreciation letter to President Donald Trump. When I decided to support him during his campaign, a lot of people were doubting Thomases, but I said he would be the next President of the United States because of his past antecedents.

When I was in the House of Representatives, I was Chairman of the UN/Nigeria Parliamentary group. I know the role he played in helping Nigeria acquire arms when even former President Barack Obama and Joe Biden turned deaf ears. Nigeria could not purchase arms from anywhere, yet they wanted us to fight corruption, insurgency, and banditry—how? That is what President Donald Trump did to help Nigeria. So voting for him was because I believe in him. His coming to help us fight insurgency in Nigeria is a welcome development, which I appreciate.

The world is a global village now; no country can fight insurgency alone—we need foreign support, and Mr. Donald Trump has done well in this regard. Just his tweet alone put everybody on the path of panic that something is coming; everybody is afraid and jittery; the fear of the unknown has kicked in. Yes, Nigeria needs to be safe. We need a secure country. God has blessed this nation with so much—natural resources, mineral resources, human capacity. Nigerians excel all over the world. If you go to any country and don’t see a Nigerian, leave that country. Everywhere we go, we excel. But what is wrong with us when we come back home to Nigeria? The question remains: who is our own problem? We are our own worst enemy. I’m sorry to say that.

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