Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, has stated that President Bola Tinubu cannot achieve any meaningful economic reform with Nigeria's current political governance structure.
Speaking on Channels Television's Politics Today programme on Friday, Agbakoba suggested that the President should transfer some powers from the exclusive legislative list to state governments to enable effective reforms.
"He cannot achieve any economic, meaningful economic reform in the context of the current political governance structure," Agbakoba emphasized.
Disconnect Between Statistics and Reality
The senior lawyer highlighted the disconnect between official economic statistics and the harsh realities faced by ordinary Nigerians.
"When the National Bureau of Statistics announces a GDP growth rate of 3.3 percent, is it happening on the ground where garri, rice, beans, palm oil are crippling people?" he questioned.
Call for Decentralization
Agbakoba advocated for a comprehensive restructuring of Nigeria's governance system, regardless of what term is used to describe it.
"Some say restructure, some call it decentralisation, others call it rebalancing. Some call it devolution, whatever name it is, the President, please take some of the powers that have been vested in the exclusive legislative list and transfer them to the state government," he urged.
The former NBA president further emphasized that state governments should also transfer significant political power to the 774 local governments to create a truly functional three-tier government system focused on service delivery.
Focus on Basic Services
According to Agbakoba, Nigerians primarily want basic services from their government. "All Nigerians want are services: education, health, jobs, security of tenure, good pension, that's all they want. And the only way that can be achieved is to rejig Nigeria," he stated.
His comments come as President Tinubu approaches the midpoint of his administration, with mounting pressure to deliver on economic reforms amid challenging conditions for many Nigerians.
Follow BenriNews on our social media platforms for more updates:
