There is a question Nigerians should be asking more loudly: with so much more money now flowing into the states, why are millions of Nigerians still struggling to see meaningful changes in their daily lives?
The question is becoming harder to ignore. Nigeria’s state governments are receiving far more money than they did before the removal of the petrol subsidy and the foreign exchange reforms. BudgIT’s latest analysis shows that aggregate state revenue rose from N4.84 trillion in 2022 to N15.53 trillion in 2025, while state expenditure increased from N6.22 trillion to N17.88 trillion. Capital spending also climbed to N10.85 trillion in 2025.
This is not small money. Federation Account allocations to states have risen dramatically. BudgIT says aggregate FAAC allocations increased from N3.43 trillion in 2022 to N11.38 trillion in 2025, a rise of more than 232 per cent. Yet the dependence of states on federal transfers has actually increased: FAAC accounted for 68.7 per cent of aggregate state revenue in 2022 but 73.3 per cent in 2025.
And the flow has continued. In the first half of 2026 alone, the 36 states received about N4.47 trillion from distributable FAAC revenue, according to Agora Policy. The total gross FAAC revenue for the period was N18.72 trillion. In July, the three tiers of government shared a record N3.007 trillion, the first monthly FAAC distribution to cross the N3 trillion mark.
So the argument that state governments simply do not have enough money is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.
Of course, governors have legitimate obligations. They must pay workers, maintain existing infrastructure, service debts and provide security and other public services. Higher revenues also come with higher costs because inflation has made virtually everything more expensive.
But that cannot be the end of the conversation. The real question is what Nigerians are getting for every additional naira available to state governments.
Look at education. In 2024, states budgeted N2.41 trillion for education but spent only N1.61 trillion, representing about 66.9 per cent implementation. Average education spending was just N6,981 per person, and no state spent as much as N20,000 per person.
Healthcare tells a similar story. States budgeted N1.32 trillion for health but spent N816.64 billion, representing 61.9 per cent implementation. Average health spending was only N3,483 per person, and no state spent more than N10,000 per person.
These figures should worry every governor. A government cannot claim success simply because it has spent billions. The real test is whether the child in a rural community has a functioning school, whether the pregnant woman can reach a properly equipped health centre, whether farmers can move their produce to markets and whether young people can find opportunities close to home.
Nigeria’s poverty figures make the issue even more urgent. The National Bureau of Statistics found that 63 per cent of Nigerians, about 133 million people, were multidimensionally poor in its 2022 survey. The problem was considerably worse in rural areas, where 72 per cent of people were multidimensionally poor, compared with 42 per cent in urban areas.
This means the success of state governments should not be measured primarily by the number of flyovers, government buildings or ceremonies they organise. It should be measured by what happens in the communities far away from the state capitals.
A road that allows farmers to move tomatoes, yam, rice or cassava to market can be more valuable to a poor community than an impressive project in the capital city. A properly equipped primary healthcare centre can save more lives than another expensive government office. A good school can transform a generation.
There are governors who are doing important work, and their achievements should not be ignored. Some states have increased capital spending, reduced debt and improved their internally generated revenue. Lagos, for example, remains an exceptional performer in internally generated revenue, accounting for roughly 44 per cent of the N4.15 trillion generated by the 34 states covered in BudgIT’s latest analysis.
But isolated success stories cannot hide a wider national problem.
The states must also stop treating FAAC as an automatic monthly entitlement rather than a public resource that carries a responsibility to citizens. More revenue should mean better schools, stronger hospitals, cleaner water, better roads, improved agriculture, stronger social protection and a more productive population.
The local government question is equally important. Billions of naira pass through the third tier of government, yet many rural communities remain without basic infrastructure. The closer government is to the people, the more visible its failures become.
Nigeria therefore needs a new conversation about fiscal federalism. It is not enough to demand more money from Abuja. States must demonstrate what they are doing with the money they already receive.
Governors should publish clear, simple accounts showing how much their states receive every month, how much is spent on salaries, infrastructure, education, healthcare, security and social programmes, and what each major project is expected to deliver.
Citizens should not have to become accountants before they can understand how their governments are spending public money.
The time has come to move the debate from “How much did our state receive?” to “What did our state achieve?”
Nigeria’s current revenue windfall could become a historic opportunity to transform the states. But money alone does not build development. Good planning, honest spending, strong institutions and accountability do.
The governors have more resources than many of their predecessors ever had. The people now have every right to demand more results.
More money must mean more development. Anything less is simply a missed opportunity.
Dear Vows
