{"id":128155,"date":"2024-08-17T12:47:59","date_gmt":"2024-08-17T11:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/state-governors-must-face-scrutiny-like-national-leaders-okai"},"modified":"2024-08-17T13:53:51","modified_gmt":"2024-08-17T12:53:51","slug":"state-governors-must-face-scrutiny-like-national-leaders-okai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/state-governors-must-face-scrutiny-like-national-leaders-okai","title":{"rendered":"State governors must face scrutiny like national leaders \u2013 Okai"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>Activist and political analyst, Usman Okai Austin, has urged Nigerians to direct their scrutiny and accountability demands towards their state governors with the same fervor they apply to questioning members of the National Assembly and the Presidency.<\/p>\n<p>Okai emphasized the need for citizens to engage their governors on pressing issues affecting their states, particularly in light of the current economic hardships faced by many Nigerians.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement he issued on Saturday, Okai said: \u201cIf only we can hold our governors accountable the way we question our National Assembly members and the presidency, we might see a significant change in governance at the state level.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While acknowledging that President Bola Tinubu, despite not being his preferred choice, has made efforts to explain his policies and decisions, Okai pointed out the lack of transparency and accountability from many state governors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe President has faced scrutiny and has, on several occasions, addressed the nation regarding his policies. Senate presidents have openly expressed their positions on national issues, and many lawmakers provide accounts of their stewardship. But what about our governors?\u201d he questioned.<\/p>\n<p>Okai lamented that state governors often evade public discourse, particularly on issues related to economic hardship and governance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany of them are quick to blame the President for the nation\u2019s challenges, yet they fail to disclose vital information about their states. How much funding comes into the state in terms of federal allocations, intervention funds, and internally generated revenue? What is the state wage bill, and how is state income and expenditure managed?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>He highlighted a growing public outcry regarding the financial entitlements of senators, noting that while they earn significant sums, many lawmakers are increasingly engaging with their constituents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople are calling for the prosecution of senators for earning 21 million naira a month as running costs. Today, senators are even more in contact with their people than the governors. I am not excusing the lawmakers, but the reality is that some of them go home every week to address the needs of their constituents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about the governors? They are accused of looting security votes, siphoning local government funds, misappropriating state assembly entitlements, and denying state judges and their staff their rightful benefits,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>He further challenged the governors to be more transparent with their constituents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow many governors are bold enough to open their state books for public scrutiny? It is time for citizens to demand answers and hold their governors accountable for their actions and inactions,\u201d he urged.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur governors must be held to the same standards as our national leaders. It is our right and responsibility as citizens to ensure that our leaders are working for us,\u201d Okai said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About Nigeria Follow Africa-Press<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. Activist and political analyst, Usman Okai Austin, has urged Nigerians to direct their scrutiny and accountability demands towards their state governors with the same fervor they apply to questioning members of the National Assembly and the Presidency. Okai emphasized the need for citizens to engage their governors on pressing issues affecting their [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":128154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[254,13422],"class_list":["post-128155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-nigeria","tag-okai"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>State governors must face scrutiny like national leaders \u2013 Okai - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Activist and political analyst, Usman Okai Austin, has urged Nigerians to direct their scrutiny and accountability deman ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/state-governors-must-face-scrutiny-like-national-leaders-okai\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"State governors must face scrutiny like national leaders \u2013 Okai\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Activist and political analyst, Usman Okai Austin, has urged Nigerians to direct their scrutiny and accountability deman ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/state-governors-must-face-scrutiny-like-national-leaders-okai\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-17T11:47:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-17T12:53:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2024\/08\/sm_1723886608.730164.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/state-governors-must-face-scrutiny-like-national-leaders-okai#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/state-governors-must-face-scrutiny-like-national-leaders-okai\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"State governors must face scrutiny like national leaders \u2013 Okai\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-17T11:47:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-17T12:53:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/state-governors-must-face-scrutiny-like-national-leaders-okai\"},\"wordCount\":468,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/state-governors-must-face-scrutiny-like-national-leaders-okai#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2024\/08\/sm_1723886608.730164.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Nigeria\",\"Okai\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/state-governors-must-face-scrutiny-like-national-leaders-okai#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/state-governors-must-face-scrutiny-like-national-leaders-okai\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/state-governors-must-face-scrutiny-like-national-leaders-okai\",\"name\":\"State governors must face scrutiny like national leaders \u2013 Okai - 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