Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorcha, has advocated for a systematic devolution of power in Nigeria, where the enormous power at the centre is delegated to the state and local government areas, to create room for sustainable economic development at the grassroots.
Okorocha stated this while addressing the board members of the Nigeria Media Merit Award and some media executives who called on him at Government House, Owerri.
He maintained that devolution of power is the solution to the apparent poverty in Nigeria, since the country’s political authority is concentrated on an individual who solely determines the fate of millions of Nigerians.
“There is no way for Nigeria unless power is divulged and resources controlled by a joint development board made of the three tiers of government,” he said.
He further regretted that the over-centralisation of power has made it difficult for serious development programmes to exist in the local councils and rural communities. He criticised the prevailing situation where government at the centre takes 55 percent of the revenue allocation, leaving 45 percent for the state and local governments, which makes it impossible for the people at the grassroots to witness meaningful impact of government.
Okorocha enjoined Nigerians to join in the call to make the Federal Government borrow his idea of community government council (CGC), where autonomous communities are given the opportunity to take part in the day-to-day running of their affairs.
On his aspirations for the presidential seat in the 2015 election, Okorocha said he was propelled by the need to completely transform the ailing economic structure of the country as well as his desire to return power to the people. “It is not time for me to be President; but there is need for me to be President,” he said.
source: dailyindependent.com
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