Nigerian comedian Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Ejekwu, popularly known as Sabinus, has challenged local government chairmen and other elected officials to account for the monthly allocations received by their respective councils, expressing concern over the lack of basic infrastructure in several communities.
The comedian made the remarks in a video shared on his Instagram handle on Thursday, calling on Nigerians to pay closer attention to how public funds are managed, particularly at the grassroots level.
Identifying himself as a Port Harcourt indigene, Sabinus said the poor state of infrastructure across parts of the South-South region raised questions about the use of funds allocated to local governments.
He expressed concern that some communities still struggle with basic amenities, including functional streetlights, despite the financial resources available to their local government administrations.
In the video, the comedian questioned why residents were not demanding greater accountability from public office holders, including local government chairmen, councillors, state and federal lawmakers, as well as governors.
“Make we talk something the way e suppose dey. I thought about something. Abeg, how many of una don ask our local government chairmen, councillors, House of Assembly members, House of Representatives members and governors, wetin dey happen to the money dem dey give them every month?” he said.
Using Rivers State as an example, Sabinus also compared the contributions of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with those of some state governments, suggesting that the commission appeared to be doing more in certain parts of the region.
“The NDDC is even doing more than some state governments in this South-South. Local government chairmen cannot do streetlights in some streets in their own local government,” he added.
His comments have drawn attention to the broader issue of accountability in local government administration and the need for elected officials to demonstrate how public allocations translate into meaningful development at the community level.