Agbakoba Wants Return to Regional Govt Not Creation of New States
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba has kicked against creation of new states. He said state creation will increase the cost of governance by adding new offices which is not practical at this time considering the economic challenges in the country.
NAN Interview
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos, the former President of the Nigeria Bar Association said creation of new states will not solve the economic and infrastructural problems of the country.
He said most of the existing 36 states are not economically viable and can’t support development and meet up financial obligations like paying the proposed minimum wage.
Legislative Update
The House of Representatives has passed the bill for the creation of Etiti State in the South-East to second reading and will hold public hearing before third and final reading.
Meanwhile Prof. Leroy Edozien, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Delta State has urged President Bola Tinubu to create another state to address the perceived marginalization in the South-East zone.
Agbakoba’s View
Agbakoba thinks Nigeria should rather restructure into regional government to reflect the country’s diversity. He said this will be more economical and lead to better governance.
He suggested collapsing the 36 states into six to eight regions or geopolitical zones with a regional leader.
Historical Background and Constitutional Change
Agbakoba mentioned the successful regional governments in Nigeria’s past like Obafemi Awolowo in the South West, Michael Okpara in the South East and Ahmadu Bello in the North.
He said Nigeria need to amend the 1999 Constitution or draft a new one to make way for this restructuring as the current constitution does not provide for regional government.
Pragmatic Developmental Approach
Agbakoba asked what is the practical benefit of creating a sixth state in the South East? He said it won’t solve the fundamental problems like hunger, insecurity, poverty and unemployment. He said a return to regionalism can better address the socio-economic and political challenges.
Dr. Olisa Agbakoba’s position is one of the many debates in Nigeria on the way forward for governance and development.
In his view restructuring into regional government is a better option than creation of new states.
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