Alibaba also faulted the 1999 Constitution bequeathed to Nigeria by the military regime of ex-Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd)
By Kehinde Okeowo
Veteran stand-up comedian and actor, Atunyota Akpobome better known as Alibaba, has argued that some of the states in Nigeria should be at best local government areas.
He made this known on Tuesday, while featuring as a guest on Channels Television’s programme ‘Sunrise Daily’
According to him, some of Nigeria’s 36 states were created by the military to appease some commanders who were later deployed to the states as administrators.
He went on to argue that states that depend solely on monthly allocations from the Federal Government and cannot generate revenue that would sustain their operations should have been left as local governments.
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Speaking during the interview, Alibaba said, “Some states were created just to appease some military officers. ‘Oh, this guy is a senior military officer, he comes from this area, we can’t give him a state now, let’s just create a state and take care of those people.
“We want to create four states in the north, let’s just balance it with some states in the south so that it will look deliberate because some of the states that were created needed to be local governments.
“Up till now, we have states that if they do not get federal allocations for three months, there will be problems in the state. Meanwhile, those same states have enough natural resources.”
He further said Nigeria’s multifarious challenges began when the federal military government abandoned the 1963 Republican Constitution and opted for a Unitary system of government.
He also faulted the 1999 Constitution bequeathed to the country by the military regime of ex-Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd), during the country’s transition from military rule to democratic governance in May 1999.
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