Profound warning from the ruling party meets a national crisis of exploitation. At a public book launch in Abuja, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, urged Nigerians to take action. He encouraged them to hold state governors and local government chairmen accountable. Federation disbursements have swelled dramatically.
His remarks came amid a wider discussion about human trafficking and the failure of institutions to protect the most vulnerable. This report examines the fiscal claims, the governance responsibilities they imply, and the continuing human cost of trafficking in Nigeria.
Prof Yilwatda framed his appeal around the sharp rise in federation allocations to subnational governments. He told citizens that no governor today receives less than three to four times what was common two years ago.
FAAC communiqués and independent reporting confirm that monthly allocations to the three tiers of government have, in many months, exceeded the ₦2 trillion mark.
This is a dramatic increase from earlier periods. At that time, monthly shares were a fraction of that total. For example the August 2025 FAAC share was reported at about ₦2.225 trillion and September 2025 at roughly ₦2.103 trillion.
Independent audits and oversight bodies have also noted the step change in revenue flows. NEITI and other analysts recorded a notable jump in federation account disbursements between 2022 and 2024. This pattern is attributed to fiscal reforms. Exchange rate adjustments expanded naira denominated receipts.
The implication is straightforward and urgent. Citizens now have larger public purses at the state and local level. These funds can be converted into visible services and people-oriented projects.
That fiscal reality sharpens the political question Prof Yilwatda posed. If monthly FAAC disbursements can run to more than two trillion naira, then the arguments are weaker. Scarcity alone can’t explain poor local roads, schools, and health facilities.
Historically, the federation account shared monthly in 2023 and earlier was far smaller. Many individual tiers received sums in the low hundreds of billions. They did not get multiple trillions.
FAAC records for late 2023 show allocations to the three tiers that underline how much the envelope has grown. The proper response by citizens is not merely to complain. They should demand transparency and prompt budgets. Citizens must ask for measurable outcomes for education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
Yet the book launch that gave the chairman this platform also reminded attendees of a darker national emergency. Alex Oriaku’s Vicious Red Circle interrogates the networks of trafficking that prey on poverty marginalisation and the silence of institutions. Human trafficking remains a grievous problem in Nigeria.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons was created in 2003. It is the statutory body charged with prosecution, prevention, and victim support. Despite its work, Nigeria continues to be classed in international literature as a source country for trafficked persons. It is also seen as a transit and destination country.
International and domestic agencies offer sobering figures. The US State Department noted that the government identified and referred more than one thousand victims to services in its most recent reporting cycle. At the same time, the International Organisation for Migration and UNODC research details patterns of internal and cross-border trafficking. These patterns include sexual exploitation, forced labour, and domestic servitude.
These numbers undercut any suggestion. Increased fiscal flows alone will not erase systemic harms. Effective social protections must go with them. Robust law enforcement and community-led prevention are also necessary.
The Director General of the National Intelligence Agency warned at the event that human trafficking is a transnational crime comparable to drugs and arms trafficking.
His emphasis on intelligence support and a whole of society response is apt. Trafficking networks work where governance is weakest and where desperation is highest. That is precisely why the chairman’s call for accountability at state and local level matters.
Budgets must be audited and matched to outcomes. They should be linked to anti-trafficking prevention programmes. These programmes focus on education, livelihoods, and protection for children and young women.
There are three immediate policy conclusions from the twin themes of the event fiscal growth and persistent human trafficking.
First improve transparency at FAAC recipients level publish monthly line by line spending and independent performance indicators.
Second, ringfence or prioritise a part of increased allocations. Focus on social protection education and anti-trafficking interventions. Make sure there are clear measurable targets.
Third, strengthen inter-agency cooperation. Develop intelligence-led operations. Enhance victim support pathways so that prosecutions follow the dismantling of networks, not just the arrest of low-level perpetrators.
Prof Yilwatda’s admonition to “talk to your governors” is less a partisan message than a civic instruction. Where public revenues rise but social indicators stagnate citizens must insist on results.
Alex Oriaku’s Vicious Red Circle is a reminder that money without accountability can deepen harm.
The challenge for Nigeria is to convert the recent fiscal windfall into dignity and protection for the people. This is especially important for those at risk of being trafficked.
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