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A former Governor of Anambra State, Senator Chris Ngige, has stressed the need for Nigeria to revert to regionalism just as he claimed that out of the 36 states in the country, only four were viable.
Ngige, who represents Anambra Central in the Senate, made the suggestion at the weekend during the Hardis and Dromedas Special Day at the 23rd Enugu International Trade Fair.
He insisted that Nigeria was better off when it practiced regional system of government and added that the defunct Western, Eastern and Northern Regions then were all viable economically.
Ngige described Nigeria as a very bogus structure that was parasitic and indolent in nature and wondered how such a structure could effectively develop the grass roots.
He lamented that except Lagos, Rivers, Kano and Delta states, other states in the country rely on allocation from the Federal Government for their survival.
Ngige said that there was need to allow the States to generate their own revenues, keep part of the revenues and remit some percentage to the account of the Federal Government.
While lamenting that the military introduced false federalism in the country, he maintained that in a true federalism, the centre could only exercise the powers given to it by the federating units.
Going down memory lane, Ngige recalled that former President of the country, Nnamdi Azikiwe, late Sadauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, former premier of defunct Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and former premier of old Eastern region, Sir Micheal Okpara used proceeds from natural resources to develop their regions.
He lamented that the bogus political structure introduced by the military gave the federal government unprecedented powers and made the States to abandon the natural resources they were endowed with.
