A former delegate to the 2014 Confab, Yinka Odumakin, has supported the devolution of powers to states.
Speaking on the issue during his appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, he noted that the centre is overweight.
Odumaki also commended the speakers of the State Houses of Assembly for demanding the introduction of devolution of powers in the next round of constitution amendment by the National Assembly.
He said, “I think it is a good development that the state assemblies have voted for the devolution of powers.
“Nigeria is wobbling today because we have put so much weight in the centre. The centre is overweight, over-bloating, and it’s sitting on the rest of the federation.”
On the herdsmen-farmers crisis, the activist took a swipe at the Inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, for asking state governors to establish ranches before implementing anti-open grazing laws in their states.
He noted that the police boss is not in the position to tell the governors when to make laws, stressing the need for the creation of state police.
“So, it’s now the IG that will tell the state when to make laws?” Odumakin wondered. “That is part of the fact that you have an overbearing centre.”
“He (the IGP) knows that the governors are just titled by names, they are chief executives – but they have no authority, they have no cohesive power to enforce the will of the assembly,” he added.
The former confab delegate maintained that if the enforcement of the Sharia law can be very effective in some northern states, ‘democratically elected’ governors should have their own police to enforce their laws.
Despite join call for Nigeria’s restructuring, he, however, said the devolution of powers would only be a step forward but not the major factor.
He also spoke on the issue of true federalism and the Nigerian state. Odumakin noted that although local government autonomy is irrelevant, it should be at the bears of the federating unit.
