The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has called on Nigerians to demand greater accountability from state governors and local government chairmen, insisting that subnational leaders now receive significantly higher monthly allocations and have no excuse for poor performance.
Yilwatda made the call on Monday in Abuja at the public presentation of “Vicious Red Circle”, a book on human trafficking written by Alex Oriaku.
Speaking at the event, he noted that monthly federal allocations to states and local governments had tripled in recent months, yet development at the grassroots remains minimal.
“No governor in Nigeria today collects less than three times, up to four times, what they used to receive before.
“Two years ago, states shared about N400 billion monthly; today, the last allocation shared was N2.2 trillion.
“So they can do more for their people. Talk to your governors. Talk to your local government chairmen. Let them do more,” he said.
Yilwatda, who recently assumed leadership of the ruling party, defended President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, insisting the administration is on course to stabilise the economy and deliver growth.
He expressed optimism that under the APC, Nigeria would experience sustainable development.
The event also spotlighted the growing crisis of human trafficking in Nigeria. Despite efforts by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Nigeria remains one of Africa’s major source, transit, and destination countries for victims of trafficking, mostly women and children, who are forced into labour, sexual exploitation, and domestic servitude across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.
Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mohammed Mohammed, described human trafficking as a serious international crime on the same scale as drug and arms trafficking.
He called for stronger collaboration among security agencies, civil society organisations, faith-based groups, and communities to dismantle trafficking syndicates.
Reviewing the 198-page book, President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Dr. Ike Neliaku, linked human trafficking to corruption and systemic exploitation.
He urged Nigerians to reject what he called the “culture of silence” that enables criminal networks to thrive.
Author Alex Oriaku said his book exposes the cycle of vulnerability that allows human trafficking to persist. “It’s a circle that preys on the desperate and the unseen.
“I wrote it to build a bridge of empathy between a global crisis and a human story,” he said.
(News Lamp)
