Yakasai Kicks Against Regional Governance
Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, a First Republic politician and elder statesman, stated on Thursday that returning to a regional system of governance, as is being urged, will no longer improve the situation in Nigeria.
He said this at The Niche’s annual lecture on Thursday at the MUSON Center in Onikan, Lagos State, with the theme “2023 elections and the future of Nigeria’s democracy.”
A regional system of governance allows each region to control the resources located within its borders while only requiring a royalty payment to the national authority.
He claimed that returning to the regional form of government would not solve the hazardous situation the country has found itself in or the problems it is currently facing.
“It has been my long-standing argument that the regional system of government worked better for the country compared to all other experimentations.
“However, in view of the changing local and international dynamics coupled with institutional limitations, reverting to the regional system may not be helpful and feasible under our current precarious situations.
“For this, I advocate for people-oriented change and peaceful restructuring of the current federal system to devolve power and responsibilities to the sub-nationals, which would, in turn, offer a better opportunity for stability and unity,” Yakasai said.
Babatunde Fashola, the minister of works and housing, James Ibori, the former governor of Bayelsa State, and Dr. Dakuku Peterside, the former director general of NIMASA, are among those that attended the ceremony.
