Additional State: Olehi Carpets NASS

…Urges Them to Prioritise Nig Problems.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Barr. Ngozi Olehi says the proposed creation of 31 additional States by the National Assembly demonstrates that indeed the Legislature constitutes a grievous burden to Nigeria and underlines how sensitive the members are to the crippling challenges that have made Nigeria a failed Nation.

Addressing newsmen in Owerri, Barr. Olehi, SAN stated that grave insecurity all over Nigeria, weak rule of law, high multidimensional poverty profile, sophisticated corruption, limitations on political participation, excessive cost of governance, extremely poor electoral culture, discriminations within its boarders and the inability of the Nigerian state to provide peace and stability to its people have dragged Nigeria into failure. He wondered why the National Assembly should consider State creation as a priority now in the face of these woes, economic and political disasters plaguing the nation.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said it is disturbing that the National Assembly is obviously unperturbed that recently released 2024 Chandler Good Government Index, ranked Nigeria as the fourth-worst governed country in the world using seven pillars of assessment on leadership and foresight, robust laws and policies, strong institutions, financial stewardship, attractive marketplace, global influence and reputation, and helping people rise. Barr Olehi lamented that if the National Assembly is sensitive, patriotic and vibrant, dynamic laws and aggressive oversight functions duly created in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) would have charted the course out of socio-economic and political abyss Nigeria has found itself.

Barr. Olehi, SAN insisted that Nigeria’s afflictions are shameful emanations from decrepit leadership which has become a formidable development obstacle and would continue to worsen the unfortunate poverty profile and decapitate economic opportunities pointing out that there is no wisdom presently in getting the people to be running about for State creation and possibly sharing of palliatives when the country is deep in varied forms of mess.

The legal luminary noted that Nigeria’s problems have always been aggravated by the lethargy of the National Assembly and their collaboration with the Executive to loot the nation dry adding that the State creation is a distraction from failure of government to generate solutions to myriads of debilitating challenges and constitutes a doorway for politicians to extort money from already impoverished populace for what the proponents will regard as bringing development closer to the people.

Barr. Olehi, SAN stressed that it is disheartening that even Mali, Cameroun and Burkina Faso are far ahead of Nigeria in the aforesaid Good Governance Index, a situation that those who parade as Nigeria’s leaders should be ashamed of and warned that the worst is to come if the people cannot arise and take back their country from these wolves. 

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said that State creation has nothing to contribute to pulling Nigeria out of the woods now adding that the focus for the Executive and the Legislature should be whatsoever should lift the nation from serial poor performance in global rankings, eradication of corruption, restoring public confidence on governance and attracting investment that will re-establish exited mega manufacturing firms that will ensure that Nigeria will not only be ahead of Zimbabwe, Lebanon and Venezuela in Chandler Government Index.

Barr. Olehi, SAN explained that the only constitutional amendment that will be tolerable now will be what will permit fundamental structuring to allow important restructuring and devolve powers to the State constituents of the federal structure. In his words, “for generating this distraction that creation of States represents, the National Assembly should be seen as the saboteurs of Development Governance who are determined to impoverish Nigerians and reduce the giant to a lilliput.”      

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