Prof. Lai Olurode, a former national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has commented on Nigeria's governance structure. He stated that President Tinubu seems to have decided it is time to focus on state governors and their actions that harm local governments. Prof. Olurode emphasized that if each level of government functions effectively, the federal government will face less blame for issues in the country.
In a report recently shared by The Sun, Prof Olurode said when Tinubu was governor of Lagos State, he and his attorney general, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo fought a legal battle in the Supreme Court to allow Lagos State to create more local governments. He said the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Tinubu, but funds for these new local governments were withheld by the federal government under President Obasanjo
In Prof Olurode's words: "President Tinubu fought hard at the Supreme Court through his then Attorney General, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, to assert the authority of the then Lagos State government to create additional local governments. Recall that the apex court ruled in favour of the Lagos State government and it became the lot of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua to release the withheld funds in deference to the verdict by the Supreme Court"