President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Economic Affairs, Tope Fasua, has stated that the living conditions are improving for Nigeria’s poorest population, as the Federal Government allocates more resources to states and local governments.

Fasua made the remarks during an interview with Seun Okinbaloye on Channels Television on Sunday while defending the Tinubu administration’s handling of poverty and the economy.

He said the fight against poverty is rooted at the local government level, which explains Tinubu’s push for local government autonomy. He also said state governments now have greater financial strength because of the increased funds available to them.

According to him, the era when civil servants were owed salaries for six, 12 or even 18 months has ended, while pensioners are also receiving their payments more regularly.

Fasua argued that getting funds to states and local governments is critical because that is where salary payments are made and where the most vulnerable Nigerians can directly feel the impact of government spending.

He maintained that conditions for very poor Nigerians are improving and said the situation is better than it used to be.

The presidential aide also said tackling poverty effectively requires detailed documentation of households, citing lessons from China’s poverty eradication programme. He noted that such an exercise cannot be carried out directly by the Federal Government alone but must be driven through state and local government structures.

Fasua added that the funds being released to subnational governments would not only improve lives but would also strengthen Tinubu’s chances of re-election in 2027.

He said the administration’s economic performance and the impact of government actions at the state and local government levels would form the basis of Tinubu’s expected return bid, insisting that the real test of governance lies where the people live.

He said, “The solution to poverty, really, that I was talking about is actually at the local government level, and that’s the reason why the president has advocated for local government autonomy and has also ensured that the states are a lot more powerful now in terms of the funding that they’re getting. And I mentioned to you the fact that, you know, those days when civil servants would be owed 18 months, 12 months, six months, it’s gone.

“Pensioners are getting their money a lot, and I think that’s where it matters. And of course, opposition will think that it’s a government that actually pushes finances to the state and the local government, okay, that ensures that salaries are paid on time and the most vulnerable part of our population actually gets something. So I’m saying that, look, I can tell you, I can tell you that, honestly, for the very poor people in this country, the situation is getting better and perhaps better than it used to be, honestly.

“Because if you are raising money to local government and to state government, that is where it’s at. But actually, we cannot go and give the local man—let me tell you, the lessons learned from the China Poverty Eradication Programme, what they did was to get documentation on every household. So if you really want to solve the poverty problem, you are talking about getting documentation on each household.

“The federal government knows that you cannot do that; you can only do that through the local government, through the state government. And so these monies that have been pushed to them are what are going to win the election for us. I have no doubt that Bola Ahmed Tinubu is coming back in 2027 anyway.”

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