Think about this, even if you have been absent minded this past four years of the current administration in your state, you would still had felt the impact of your governor if he had really performed. It is almost impossible not to notice a performing administration and vice versa.
Conducive atmosphere for capital investment which demands that government provide basic, necessary and complex infrastructures are credible parameters to measure their performance. The extent to which the latter has helped the state to generate more income also determine the success of an administration. Then we talk about people centred amenities like quality health care, improved education, quality social safety net, responsive government, swift and quality emergency response department and the likes are also performance metrics, even the rate of unemployment and the level to which the government has been able to put the active youth population to work.
On a complex level, we may be looking at budget formulation and implementation, looking to see the quality of projects the state government has implemented in the past four years, the rate of completion and the extent to which it involved the people in the drafting of the budget proposal. How transparent and accountable is the outgoing administration, to what extent has it been able to adapt the principle of open government and data
How has your state governor fared after four years in office. From the super highway project in cross river to the Lagos transport interchange down to the Cargo airport project in Benue state. Has these major and highly capital intensive projects benefit the electorate?
In 2016, the state government and LGAs were beneficiaries of a total federal allocation of N2.662 trillion, in 2017, it increased to N3.350 trillion, in 2018, they received N4.518 trillion. Has the state governors justified this huge some of money. This is not inclusive of their internally generated revenue. Lagos generates more IGR than any other states in the country, the south south states have had more budgetary allocations. Paris club refund was paid to all the 36 states. Armed with this, do you think your state governor can justify how each of the funds has been spent?
How many projects has he initiated but refused to complete with no explanation to the people?
Are there promises your governor made and was unable to fulfil now that his tenure is over, especially for those who would not be coming back for a second term or those that have done two terms.
Though government is a continuum, but there is always a role for citizens to play, it is our responsibility to hold our leaders accountable, and there are several ways of doing it in the new media age. When your government is not doing well, don’t keep mute, do not seek alternatives, let’s all raise voices and demand good and responsible government.
We may not be able to correct the deed of the past administration, but we can compel the incoming leaders to deliver the dividend of democracy and make them understand that it is not work as usual.
You would always have the right to question your government and demand accountability no matter how frustrating it is in a place like Nigeria