State creation: Return Nigeria to regional govt – Agbakoba to NASS

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Olisa Agbakoba, on Sunday charged the National Assembly to return Nigeria to regionalism and not create additional states.

Agbakoba said the National Assembly should collapse the 36 states into six or eight regions which would have leaders.

Speaking with News Agency of Nigeria, the senior lawyer described the agitation for additional state creation as a misplaced priority.

In the National Assembly, bills seeking the creation of some states have been passed for second reading.

However, Agbakoba said Nigerians should be concerned about restructuring the country into regional governments.

Agbakoba said: “State creation at this present harsh economic will, no doubt, lead to an increase in the number of National Assembly members, ministers, local governments, and others, which would further increase the cost of governance in the country.

“This is coming at a time when most Nigerians are starving due to rise in food prices. Insurgents, bandits, and terrorists are abducting people for ransom in other states of the country.

“Therefore, the National Assembly should, instead, return the country to regionalism by collapsing the 36 states into six to eight regions or geopolitical zones, each of which will have a leader.

“We need to do away from state creation to regional system of government.”