Nigeria is giving its states more room to govern, but greater autonomy will not automatically produce better government. The real test of decentralisation is whether states can use their growing responsibilities to develop, test and sustain solutions that improve the lives of their citizens.
For decades, Nigeria’s federalism has been dominated by arguments over who controls power and revenue. That debate remains important, but it has obscured a more consequential question: what should states do with the powers they have?
The answer should be experimentation. States should become laboratories of governance, testing different approaches to electricity, transport, healthcare, education, sanitation, revenue collection and local service delivery. Successful models should be measured, documented and adapted elsewhere. Failed ones should be abandoned. Without that discipline, decentralisation risks becoming little more than the transfer of responsibility from Abuja to state capitals.
The opportunity is becoming more significant. Recent reforms have created greater space for states to participate in electricity markets, while debates over state policing and the emergence of regional development commissions are expanding the scope for subnational action. States are also receiving substantial federation revenues. In June 2026, the federal, state and local governments shared N2.551tn in federation revenue, with states receiving N838.2bn. Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation
