CLO, Opposition Parties Call For Regional Governments

Opposition political parties and the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) on Tuesday said that any state which could not generate at least 70 per cent of its needed revenue should fold up.

Similarly, the groups called for the scrapping of the state governments and a return to regionalism as a way out of the current near-total dependence on federal allocation.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that these positions came on the heels of the current face-off between the Federal and State Governments over the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF).

The State Governments had declined collection of their revenue allocation, until the Federal Government returned the SWF allegedly removed from the Consolidated Revenue Account.

NAN reports that following the stalemate, most federal, state and local government workers, as well as those in agencies and parastatals, were yet to be paid their October salaries.

Chief Maxi Okwu, Chairman, Citizens Popular Party, told NAN in a telephone interview that Nigeria was better off with regions which used the funds they generated to develop their areas.

“We sincerely think that states that cannot generate enough money to run its affairs should close up. We must jettison the drunkenness of overdependence on Niger Delta oil,’’ he said.

Okwu said that although the Federal Government lacked the constitutional powers to unilaterally draw funds from the consolidated revenue account, it did not exonerate the over dependency of states on the centre.

“Aside from one or two states that are viable, the rest simply wait for the (federal) allocation, which is wrong,” said Okwu.

He urged the Federal Government to re-think the SWF, pointing out that there was need to obey the law of the land on the issue.

“The law stipulates that all monies due to the nation, except for direct revenue like tax to the Federal Government, must be paid into the consolidated revenue account.

“This means that the Federal Government is not allowed to spend or remove from that account without the consent of the other tiers of government,’’ he said.

Lagos State Chairman of the CLO, Mr Ehi Omokhuale, noted that since most of the states could not stand on their own, there was the need to take care of them as stipulated by the constitution, or scrap them.

Omokhuale urged the Federal Government to consider the plight of workers and retrace its step on the sovereign wealth fund policy.

“In times like this, it would be necessary to revert to the provisions of the constitution which make removal of the sovereign fund unconstitutional,’’ he said.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the National Action Council (NAC), Dr Olapade Agoro, observed that it was wrong for states to run to the Federal Government for money every month.

“The allocation should be an added revenue, but not the basic revenue needed to operate,’’ he said.

He said that there was need for Nigeria to revert to the principle of derivation, adding that states that rely solely on the Federal Government for existence should be scrapped.

Agoro said that unless Nigeria operated true federalism, there would always be crisis in the nation’s polity.

“There is nothing wrong with the sovereign wealth fund but we must ensure that due process is followed in its application,’’ he said.