The news that the President had accepted direct or consensus primaries was initially met with widespread joy by the Nigerian masses. There was a collective sense of relief that the era of imposed candidates was finally over. However, as the primary elections approached, many Governors refused to back down. Believing they were deeply popular and invincible; they dug in their heels. Unfortunately, the governors won again. The candidates who emerged are largely viewed as the “handbags” or “boi-boi” of these governors.

This reality is evident from first-hand testimonies across the states. In Kwara Central, specifically Ilorin West, an APC stakeholder openly lamented that most of the candidates picked by the governors are not popular. Expressing his deep frustration, he even admitted that they might end up voting for the PDP, which is the major opposition party. He noted that the PDP’s handpicked candidate is actually popular, and the people expected the APC to match that popularity. Moving over to Kwara South, in Oke-Ode Ward, I was personally asked by locals to pinch the party leaders into reality regarding the candidate the Kwara State Governor had picked. The consensus there was equally clear: the governor’s choice lacks popular support, an oversight that could cause the APC to lose a key state in the country.

Even at the airport, the frustration is palpable. Near a POS stand, I overheard an Hausa man complaining bitterly on a five-minute phone call. Although I don’t understand Hausa perfectly, I clearly heard him say, “Tinubu mugu ne” (Tinubu is bad/wicked). When he hung up, I asked him, “Wetin Tinubu do you?” He complained that the President was handpicking their next governor over more popular candidates. When he revealed he was from Nasarawa, I corrected him right away, telling him to stop blaming the President for this because it is his own governor who is handpicking the people.

Nigerians are remarkably quick to blame the highest office in the land for anything that displeases them, extending even to matters of personal responsibility. It appears that state governors are actively using the President as a shield to deflect blame from their own offices, and this narrative must change. Rumors persist that the party hierarchy conceded supreme power to the governors to handpick candidates for various political positions. This method is inherently destructive. For instance, a highly popular sitting Senator had his senatorial ticket yanked away and handed to a less popular candidate simply because of a personal rift with his state governor. This unfair treatment forced the popular senator to decamp to an opposition party, severely weakening the APC’s structure.

Political tickets and responsibilities should only be given to tested, trusted candidates with clean, proven track records. True leadership recruitment should mirror timeless principles found in faith, academia, and professional careers.

In the famous biblical parable of the talents, a master went on a journey and entrusted his servants with 10, five, and one talent respectively, telling them to invest until his return. Upon his return, the first servant boasted of doubling his 10 talents and was awarded control over 10 cities, while the second servant who doubled his five talents was rewarded accordingly. However, the last servant hid his single talent and returned it without adding value. The master labeled him unfruitful, withdrew the talent, and gave it to the first servant who had already proven his capacity.
Consider also an academic example where a student studies hard aiming for an “A” but scores a 69%, which is just one point short of the 70% threshold. A lenient lecturer can easily pad that single point to earn him the “A” because the student showed effort. This aligns perfectly with the Yoruba proverb, “Omo to ba sipa ni Iya magbe,” meaning it is the child who lifts their arms that the mother picks up, proving that to receive help, you must first show effort.

We see this same rule in the police force, where officers who enter at the same rank often rise above their peers based on merit. Those who successfully crack high-profile cases, like kidnappings, robbery and banditry, receive accelerated promotions ahead of the standard timeline. It applies to the banking sector as well, where temporary staff are hired and given strict targets, and it is only after they achieve those targets and prove their value that they secure permanent, full-time employment. The moral value across all these examples is clear: you must show value in your current position, your record must speak for you, and your tower of achievement must be high before you can be entrusted with greater responsibility.
Unfortunately, many governors and their handpicked candidates completely lack these meritocratic qualities. While the President has introduced various interventions to cushion the impact of the fuel subsidy removal, such as the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) bus initiative, the governors are stifling progress. They continue to hold a chokehold on Local Government autonomy, preventing the closest tier of government from functioning effectively for the masses.

The President put it perfectly when he declared that citizens should hold their governors responsible. This era should have been the ultimate opportunity to sanction these governors and prune back the branches they have extended far beyond their boundaries. Instead, the reverse is the case. We have pampered them, overlooked their inefficiencies, and empowered them even more.

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Bamidele Atoyebi is the Convener of BAT Ideological Group, National Coordinator of Accountability and Policy Monitoring and a publisher at Unfiltered and Mining Reporting