A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has declared that how to restructure the current Federal arrangement in the country should be a major focus of delegates at the on-going national conference for a better future for the country.
In a speech delivered at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, the former vice president pointed out that the current federal structure arrogates too much functions and resources to the government at the centre, thus killing the spirit of innovation and enterprise among the people - which is a critical component in building a self-sustaining economy.
While acknowledging his initial stance in opposing the constitution of the national conference, Atiku said that delegates at the conference should make the best of the opportunity.
According to him, “I want to assume that a new and improved Nigeria
is the goal, and I believe that any opportunity for people to talk is better than to fight, the National Conference should focus on designing a political and governmental system that empowers local authorities and gives them greater autonomy to address peculiar local issues, and enhances accountability, while contributing to the general good of the country.”
He said the envisaged robust federal system would reduce the tensions that are built into the nation’s current over-centralised system and pointed out that the current federal structure in Nigeria -which he termed unitary federalism - is a creation by and for the military governments of the past.
“As more power is concentrated in the centre, the federal government appropriated more resources and expanded its responsibilities. All of these were done in the name of promoting national unity and the process was relatively easy as the unified command structure of the military ensured little opposition.
“Therefore, fixing Nigeria, to me, will require reversing decades of over-centralisation of power and over-concentration of resources at the centre,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment