Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose and his PDP counterpart Dr Olusegun Mimiko have both disagreed on the restructuring of the country.
While the Ekiti Governor believes in political restructuring of the country to guarantee true federalism, the Governor of Ondo State believes otherwise while aligning with Governor Tambuwal of Sokoto State added that what Nigeria actually need is fiscal restructuring
Fayose said that “We believe in restructuring that will bring about true federalism. If we all are to have a sense of belonging, and if we should believe in this country called Nigeria, there must be restructuring to eliminate all fears being expressed and insecurity threatening the existence of this country.
“All the contentious issues need to be addressed under restructuring,” said Fayose in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, on Wednesday.Mimiko, while aligning with his Sokoto State counterpart spoke through the Ondo State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, on Wednesday, said the call (by Tambuwal for higher revenue for the states) was a welcome development, noting that the review would rescue the country from its current economic challenges.
He said, “It is the fiscal restructuring that people have been clamouring for. That is, the state should be allowed to take over their God-given resources, which is fiscal federalism.
“If we have fiscal federalism, anybody that becomes the President (of Nigeria) is immaterial to the people.“The formula currently in operation has been in existence since 1999 and the law says it should be reviewed every five years. There is a need for the review at this time because the states and the local governments are the tiers that have direct contact with the people.
“All the resources that the government shares; all the resources that go to the federation account come from the states and the local governments. It is the state that can invest in education and agriculture; it is the state governments that can provide more employment; it is the state governments that can invest in security more, because they are closer to the people.”
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