Restructuring Only Can’t Solve Nigeria’s Development Challenges – Utomi

All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain and former presidential candidate, Pat Utomi, on Monday stated that restructuring alone
which many are clamouring for would not solve Nigeria’s multifaceted development challenges.

Utomi spoke at “The Platform,’’ a national discourse forum organised by the Covenant Christian Centre in Lagos.

According to him, empirical evidence showed no link between more resources and development in the country, stating that some states with fewer resources were more developed than some resource-rich states.
The APC politician held that the belief that the states would dobetter with more resources was a myth, stating that only those states that made the people the core of their governance would develop.

Utomi slammed the costs of governance at the various levels
of government, saying the situation was a serious drain on the
country’s resources.

He described governance inmost states as poor, while saying local governments in the country were dysfunctional.

His words: “The local governments in the country are dysfunctional
and are a bloody waste of resources.’’

The former presidential aspirant said the country needed to be restructured in a way thatthe costs of governance would be reduced, so as to be able to deliver the goods noting the country fared better under the regional arrangement as it fostered healthy competition at minimal costs of running the government.

He described the call for the creation of more states as antithetical to development, observing that states creation would only cater to the needs of the political elite through appointments and would not serve the peoples’ interests.
Mr. Utomi said the destiny of the country was in the hands of everyone and urged Nigerians to work for the progress of the
nation.