President Bola Tinubu has charged the media on the need to demand accountability, development and service from other tiers of government.
Tinubu said federal government reform policies have made more funds available to the federating units.
President Tinubu gave the charge at the State House, where he hosted the leadership of the Nigerian media, comprising members of the Nigeria Press Organisation (NPO), Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), Nigeria Guild of Editors, and Nigeria Union of Journalists, among others.
Addressing the gathering of media executives and editors, Tinubu said the recent reforms that guarantee direct funding for local governments have created a new opportunity for grassroots development, adding that the press must play a critical role in ensuring accountability at that level.
“We’ve opened up the principle of federalism to the extent that local governments are now getting their money. But how they use it is in your hands. Don’t bombard me alone; look out to the local government too,” the President said.
He added that state governments are also benefiting from improved fiscal space and must be scrutinised accordingly.
“Equally, the sub-nationals are enjoying the freedom. Today, there is no state that is borrowing to pay salaries of employees,” he said.
The President emphasised that governance and national progress require collective responsibility among leaders, institutions and citizens, noting that the media remains an indispensable partner in nation-building.
“We can complain that it is not enough. We can complain we are not where we should be, but we have to manage what we have to sustain today, survive tomorrow and make progress. It is a collective responsibility, you, myself and those people that we assign,” Tinubu said.
