Let Your Political Appointees and Other Tiers of Goverment Run Your Vision For You With Leadership empowerment and Policy Focus strategy

To ask what keeps President Bola Ahmed Tinubu awake at night is to identify the central challenge of governance in a federal system: how to inspire 36 state governors and 774 local government chairmen to actively buy into a single, cohesive national vision.

Since assuming office, the President has been fighting an unrelenting multi-pronged battle. The administration has confronted persistent insecurity, economic strains from fuel subsidy removal and currency reform, long-standing infrastructure deficits, and an unstable power grid. In response to these pressures, the federal government has channeled unprecedented revenues directly to sub-national governments. State and local leaders now receive allocations unprecedented in recent political history.

Yet, public skepticism remains widespread, with citizens constantly asking where the funds are going. Claiming that nothing is happening misses the broader reality. Massive federal projects continue across the nation, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, extensive dualization along key arterial corridors like Shagamu-Ijebu-Ore-Benin and Ife-Ibadan, the Sokoto-Badagry road, major gas projects, and rail developments, I witnessed these roads personally. At the same time, federal resources have funded significant wage increases, raising the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000, doubling military salaries, pensions being settled, student loan programs, stabilising academic calendar devoid of ASUU strike.

The core issue facing the country is not a lack of funding, but a breakdown in policy alignment across sub-national governments. Increased allocations have not automatically translated into visible, life-changing progress at the grassroots. Many state governors and local chairmen appear uncertain about how to prioritize their resources, often resorting to prestige projects like costly flyovers in quiet rural hubs or redundant investment summits that yield little real economic value.

Real policy alignment requires a structured model of operational leadership. A compelling template exists within large institutional organizations, such as David Oyedepo’s Living Faith Church. Spanning over 144 nations and thousands of local branches, the organization maintains operational unity through a monthly Leadership Empowerment Summit held on the first Saturday of every month. By assigning a single thematic focus for each month, every pastor and branch operates with synchronized focus and clarity.

President Tinubu applied a similar philosophy during his tenure as Governor of Lagos State, holding regular operational meetings with cabinet members and local council chairmen to monitor local needs and enforce a unified agenda. Replicating this strategy at the national level offers a clear pathway forward.

The president has earned respect from these governors. Just as the popular belief goes that a woman only truly loves a man who provides for her financially, the same principle applies here: President Tinubu is pumping enough money into the states, the governors will surely bend to his requests.

By setting a clear monthly policy theme such as focusing one month on opening rural farm access roads, the next on direct micro grants for market traders and artisans, and another on primary health center rehabilitation the Presidency can guide sub-national expenditure toward immediate public benefit. Coupled with regular quarterly leadership summits bringing together governors, ministers, and local council chairmen, this framework will transform increased allocations into measurable national progress.
Why President Tinubu Needs a Monthly Policy Focus and Leadership Empowerment Summit

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