Tuesday, July 14, 2026

I don’t like governors who make promises but don’t perform: Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says he does not like governors who make promises during campaigns and do not perform well after winning elections.

• June 11, 2021
Buhari and governors
Buhari and some Nigerian governors used to illustrate the story

President Muhammadu Buhari says he does not like governors who make promises during campaigns and do not perform well after winning elections.

Mr Buhari challenged governors to look inward towards finding solutions to security challenges plaguing their states, particularly those afflicted by killer herdsmen.

The president stated this in an interview with ARISE TV broadcasted on Thursday.

On that Thursday, Governor Nasir El-Rufai told SSS directors that since 2015, bandits, killer herdsmen, and Boko Haram have become more daring under Mr Buhari.

Mr El-Rufai is considered an ally of the incumbent president who assumed power in 2015 with a vow to crush Boko Haram and other criminal elements ravaging Nigeria.

Castigating the governors, Mr Buhari narrated that ”two South-West governors “came to me to say cattle rearers are” destroying farms in their states.

“I asked them what happened to the grassroots security panels where traditional rulers to local governments who meet regularly to identify the root of their problems and identify crooks within their environment and apprehend the criminals,” stated Mr Buhari.

He added, “Who destroyed this system? Go back and fix it. Give your people sense of belongings. I don’t like it when people campaign to become governors, and people trusted them with their votes, and after winning, they can’t perform.

“They’re trying to push responsibilities to others. We have three tiers of government: federal, state, and local.’’

On devolution of powers, Mr Buhari frowned upon politicians deliberately destroying the local government system.

He further explained, “Devolution of powers, you have to define it. Well, actually, the local government system has been killed. The federal, state, and local governments if they agree to flow properly we won’t have all these problems.

“But the problem is the local government has been virtually killed, and this is not good for this country because those who became the local government chairmen have been compromised. If your local government is entitled to receive 300 million and later you are only given 100 million, and the chairman will keep quiet. Is that how we will continue?”

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

NationWide

UN advocates stronger cooperation framework with Nigeria to drive growth

Mr Fall stressed the need to strengthen the UN-Nigeria cooperation framework to bolster national growth.

Agriculture

Nigeria, Brazil deepen partnership on agriculture, livestock development

Mr Shettima said both countries will roll out bilateral partnerships in agriculture and livestock under the initiative.

Troops

Heading 1

Troops detain terrorists’ logistics suppliers, recover weapons in southern Kaduna

Mr Oteh disclosed that the suspects were intercepted and subsequently arrested by troops while travelling from Plateau to Niger State.

APC LOGO

Heading 2

Primaries Fallout: APC chairman advises aggrieved aspirants to accept defeat

Mr Bello urged those who couldn’t make it in the just-concluded APC primaries to emulate the speaker by accepting the outcome.

NationWide

NTAC deploys 28 TAC volunteers to Uganda to bridge educational gaps

Mr Yakub expressed satisfaction with the quality of Nigerian professionals selected for deployment to Uganda.

World

South African police arrest four over attempted murder

The suspects are expected to appear before the Virginia Magistrate’s Court soon, the police said.