A former Vice-President and the All
Progressives Congress presidential aspirant, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has
called for devolution of powers to give more resources to states in
Nigeria.
According to him, most of
responsibilities being carried out by the Federal Government are
supposed to be handled by the state governments.
Abubakar stated this on Monday in Ado
Ekiti at the inauguration of the ultra-modern Oba Adejugbe General
Hospital, built by Governor Kayode Fayemi-led administration to mark the
end of his four-year tenure in office.
Fayemi said that the state had made efforts to ensure that the state was free of the Ebola Virus Disease.
Abubakar, who commended Fayemi for the
feat, explained that the Federal Government had no reason venturing into
agriculture, health, employment and others, which were the fundamental
statutory duties of the state governments.
He said, “The Federal Government is too
powerful in Nigeria and has taken in more responsibilities than it is
supposed to be. There is the need to devolve powers to the state
governments and if we cede powers to the state governments, we should
also move resources alongside.
“The Federal Government has no business
handling projects in health, agriculture, employment and other sectors. I
have always been saying this each time I have the opportunity. The
Federal Government ought to be left with foreign policy, defence and
monetary policy, so that the Presidency can be made less attractive to
reduce the tension in the polity.”
Abubakar described the APC as “a strong
and better organised” party to tackle poverty and rescue Nigerians from
the sufferings brought by the PDP in the last 15 years.
“Nigerians now have opportunity to make a
change and this is the opportunity that should not be missed. Even
Ghana, which is less in population than Lagos State, had got the
opportunity of having opposition winning election at the Presidential
level.
“Fellow Nigerians, this is the time we must have a change and it is a change we must have,” Abubakar stressed.
