THE STATES IN THE NIGERIA’S FEDERATION

BEING A LECTURE DELIVERED ON THE EIGHTEENTH FOUNDATION DAY OF THE

IGBINEDION UNIVERSITY, OKADA

BY

HIS EXCELLENCY DR. IBRAHIM HASSAN DANKWAMBO, Bsc, Msc, FCA, FCIB, FCIM, FNES FCIT, OON (TALBAN GOMBE)

ON

10TH MAY, 20171

INTRODUCTION

Nigeria’s Federal system is today, slightly over sixty-two (62)

years old having been initially introduced in the Lyttleton Constitution

of 1954, gradually refined and finally adopted in the constitutional

conferences that worked out the constitution that led to Nigeria’s

independence in 1960. For political exigencies the Regional federation

system was abandoned and twelve states were created, thus Nigeria

moved from larger federating units to smaller units. After the

unfortunate civil war, which was a statement by Nigeria that it wants to

be a united federal country, creation of states became more or less a

regular affair until 1996 when new states were created last. But during

the 2014 National Conference 45 requests for state creation were

received and 18 were recommended.

The choice of this topic is apt because in recent years it has

become a topical issue that is shaking the foundations of the Nigeria’s

Federal system. One never thought that disagreements and the demand

for fairness in a system that has been operated for over 60 years will

generate such bad blood and extremism. Instead of searching for the

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solutions to our problems in the functional lapses of the system and in

the behaviour and attitudes of leadership, in accountability, transparency

and other political and social values in the society, people engage in

false accusations to unnecessarily heat-up the polity.

I have no doubt that states are the strongest tier and building blocks

of Nigeria. States in the Nigerian constitution and federal system occupy

a pivotal position in the operations of the federation and as agents of

development in the country. It is out of the recognition of the role states

have played in the political and socio-economic development of the

country that the demand for creation of more has not ceased up to now. I

will argue for strengthening the states while upgrading the capacity of

the local governments; alongside institutional reforms and strong rule of

law. A combination of these, I believe, will properly address the

numerous agitations in the country. Mr. Chairman, permit me to give a

brief overview of what a federal system is said to look like.

THE FEDERAL SYSTEM: A GENERAL OVERVIEW

Federations have been established in many countries of the world

because of the obvious advantages in terms of the significance of size of

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population and landmass that could contain vast resources for the

development of the Federation which could confer it economic and

political clout among the comity of nations. The federal system, like

other aspects of human society is not perfect and infallible, it has

advantages and disadvantages. Due to considerations of advantages such

as economies of large-scale, groups come together as federating units to

form a country. Smaller units agree to come together for the mutual

benefit of unity.

Federalism has been known to be the best system that caters for

diversities of language, culture, religion and in some cases race. It

engenders unity in diversity. It uses or applies division or devolution of

powers between the centre and the federating units for effective

administration of the national territory. It promotes popular participation

by providing opportunities for local representatives to run the affairs at

all levels of the system. In a federation, small and otherwise

inconsequential units come to limelight, acquire size and status which

would not have been possible if they were left on their own. It allows

the pooling of human resources and skilled manpower to enable the

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effective management of the economic development of a country, which

could play a significant or even a big role in international trade and

politics. For these and many more reasons federalism has become the

most preferred system for most of the large countries of the world today.

The Federal systems have usually been created by the process of

aggregation or disaggregation or by a mixture of both. Over 40% of the

world’s population live in federal countries, the leading ones being the

United States of America, India, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Canada,

Mexico, Switzerland and of course Nigeria. It is worthy to note that no

existing federal systems of government are identical. Each one differs

according to the circumstances of its formation and history. However,

the most successful federal polities actually reflect a unifying political

structure and a set of explicitly federal political values.

However, this is not to say federalism is perfect and has no

problems. There is the problem of conflict of authority between the

centre and federating units, which is a major feature of the system. The

smaller units complain of the over-bearing power of the central

government and the usurpation of some powers and functions of

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federating units. If not carefully handled, federalism could erode

national patriotism, lead or resort to regionalism, provincialism, ethnic

and religious cleavages; and, the development of conflicts and tensions.

But these types of conflicts and tensions are deliberately promoted by

greedy and unpatriotic elites, for their social, political and associated

pecuniary advantages while the majority of the population on whose

behalf the elite claim to fight is marginalized, left out and behind and

even trampled upon. In some cases federalism could lead to duplication,

over-lapping and even contradictory policies and projects that amount to

waste of scarce resources. However, federal arrangement in a country

presupposes that there is division of powers among levels of government

with a written constitution showing the division and coordinate

relationships between the levels with regard to their respective functions.

This means that each level of government can decide and act on issues

within its defined jurisdiction to accelerate participation and

development.

Notwithstanding the problems of the federal system the

establishment of multilateral international organizations at the global

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and Regional levels such as the United Nations Organization, the

European Union, North America Free Trade Zone, Association of East

Asian Nations, the African Union, G7, BRICS etc.; are all mimicry of

federalism due to the obvious advantages size confers on member

states/nations. At the level of individual nations, all federal countries are

doing all they could to maintain the system because of the idea of the

bigger the better.

NIGERIA AS A FEDERATION

The adoption of federalism by Nigeria can be ascribed largely to

its considerable diversity in terms of geography, ethnicity and culture.

The country has over 170Million people of over 300 ethnic groups,

occupying over 900 thousand square kilometers of land. This makes it

compose of different social and cultural values and occupying distinct

geographical/ecological zones. With such ethnic plurality, as well as

cultural and regional diversity, it becomes a polyglot nation. The

country can hardly be governed effectively and efficiently as a political

unit by a centralized authority. Federalism has, therefore, been generally

accepted by Nigerians as the most suitable political arrangement that

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would allow diverse elements to retain some identity and at the same

time remain a united country with ample benefits from the

complementarities of resources and large domestic markets arising from

the large diversities in the federating units.

Although the rationale for federalism in Nigeria can be ascribed to

the pluralistic and heterogeneous nature of the society, it can also be

derived from the diversity of functions which a modern government is

expected to perform. Some of the functions can be more efficiently

performed at the national level, others at the lower levels such as the

States and/or Local Governments. In recognition of this principle, efforts

have been made in the Nigerian Federal system to define the powers and

functions of the various tiers of government, with the constitution

classifying the powers and responsibilities of the levels into exclusive,

and concurrent as well as implied residual list.

The devolution of functions to different levels of government in

any federal political system has fiscal implication. This is due to the fact

that discharge of the assigned functions involves expenditure and

revenue. Consequently, in addition to specifying the division of powers

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and functions as between tiers of government, a federal system has to

deal with the counterpart issue of fiscal federalism, which has become a

threat to the Nigerian Federalism.

In general, Federalism provides space for representation to

different or diverse groups and interests. It facilitates the nurturing and

development of collective common values among wide varieties of

peoples and cultures. It offers room for democratic pluralism, offers

room for moderation of differences, caters for better approach to solving

diverse problems and, provides for bigger and stronger nation.

ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF STATES IN THE NIGERIAN FEDERAL SYSTEM

States in the federal system the world over constitutes the second

tier of the government of a federation. Federal constitutions provide for

division of power between the centre and the constituent federating

units; that is the state and local governments. In the hierarchy of the

federal system, the state occupies a strategic position; it is the link

between the local governments and the central government. It is the tier

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of government that attends more to the daily dealings or affairs of the

people than the federal and even the local governments.

States were created in Nigeria in 1967, 1976, 1987, 1991 and 1996

not with the intent of dismembering the country, but with the vision and

hope that the federal system could be made to work better and be more

prepared to meet the challenges of development. It was also meant to

enhance political stability by reducing inter-ethnic and regional tensions.

States were created under the principle of creating administrative units

and machinery to increase, proportionately, opportunities of social and

economic development. Considering the foregoing a lot of sacrifices

were made in various ways to sustain the system over the decades.

Therefore, there is no reason or basis for some of the negative divisive

ideas and views some elites are clamouring for. Public service delivery

is the core function of governments at all levels. How effective these

services are depending on a number of variables. It is true that the

central government is big and strong, but it can reach out the citizens

much easier only through the state governments. It is a demonstration of

the realization of this fact that the Nigerian Constitution devolved

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significant aspects of service delivery to the states and shared some

between the States and the Federal Governments. The constitutional

provision for the role and functions of states were clearly spelt out in

Part II of the Second Schedule under the Concurrent Legislative List in

the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended,

which can be summarized as follows:

1. Provision of security and protection of lives and

properties of the people. This is the primary

responsibility of all levels of government, but state

governments are usually the first to respond to any

threats to peace. That explains why they are provided

with special funds called security vote.

2. Provision of infrastructure such as roads,

electrification and transport system in both rural and

urban areas.

3. Provision of basic social services such as education,

health care and clean drinking water. Primary and

secondary schools are built, maintained, staffed and

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provided with working materials by state

governments.

4. Generation of revenue and attraction of investments.

They are expected to encourage and support the

establishment of small, medium and even large scale

businesses and industries. This necessarily involves

creating conducive environment by ensuring the

provision of functional infrastructure, basic

amenities and services as well as adequate security

for businesses to operate successfully.

5. Encouragement of agriculture and industrial

production in their areas of jurisdiction.

It stands out clearly that states play a critical role in providing and

regulating the operations of vital sectors of the economy and society.

While doing these they are not competing with the central government.

Their efforts complement those of the centre in these aspects of social

and economic development.

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In practical terms states do much more than these functions. They

are involved in maintaining public order and security. They are usually

the first in responding to threats to security. A typical example is the

role states played in the North East during the Boko Haram insurgency

which demonstrates the important role states could play in the

responsibility of providing security to the people in the frontline of

conflict, war or insurgency. The states in the region since the beginning

of the insurgency were on the frontline confronting the situation.

However, later on they worked in collaboration with the Federal

Government, in providing support to the security forces and agencies in

dealing with the problem.

States in Nigeria under the leadership of Executive Governors

promote good governance and integration, inclusive and participatory

administration, accommodation of diversity and consensus building all

in effort to build workable and effective society. States are also

concerned with social justice and the provision of facilities,

infrastructure, goods and services to improve the well-being and welfare

of the citizens. States plan and provide jobs, health care, clean drinking

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water and environmental sanitation and empower its citizens through

various economic and social empowerment programmes. They assist

small and medium scale entrepreneurs to boost the economy of the

nation. In summary, sates are into all aspects of human social,

economic, political and cultural developments. Any serious minded state

chief executive has all these on his agenda and should wish to leave

behind some indelible marks in these aspects during his tenure.

Going by the constitutional arrangement on distribution of

responsibilities between the three tiers of government, the pivotal role of

states can be clearly discerned. States share responsibilities with both the

federal and local governments. It is the only tier that has that

responsibility. The states have responsibilities that are key components

of national development such as electricity, industrial, commercial and

agricultural development, science and technological research, university

and post-primary education, health and social welfare they share with

the federal government. With local governments they share primary,

adult and vocational education, health services, and development of

agriculture and non-mineral natural resources.

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Currently, there are thirty-eight (38) state universities, over forty

(40) state polytechnics and over forty (40) schools of Nursing and

Midwifery. States also man about 62, 406 primary schools with total

enrolment of about 23, 129, 927; there are a total of 11, 874 Junior

Secondary schools with a total enrolment of 4, 434, 979. By March,

2016, the Federal Government owed sixteen states a total sum of ₦580.5

billion for rehabilitation works carried out by the states on some federal

roads in their territories. Sometime in July, 2016 the federal government

was thinking of pleading with the states to take over some of the federal

roads to ease its burden.

No national or Federal Government programme, project or policy

is developed and adapted without the input and endorsement of the

states. This demonstrates the collaboration, cooperation and

complementary relations between the states and the Federal

Government. It is also the states that transmit and implement these at the

grassroots by working in collaboration with the local governments.

Local governments in Nigeria today lack the necessary or requisite

human resources to operate effectively and efficiently even if material

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resources are deployed to them. States have been the bull-work of

implementation of policies and most effective agents of development in

the nation and this role will take time to change.

TENSIONS AND CONTENTIONS OF NIGERIA’S FEDERALISM

There have been tensions and contentions about the viability of

Nigeria’s Federal system in the last decades. The debates have caused

unwarranted bad blood and violent reactions. The atmosphere has been

charged as if the country will burst any moment. People and groups

propose solutions some of which border on the extreme such as the

dismembering of the country. In summary the main issues of contention

include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Over concentration of power at the centre;

2. Undue Federal interference in the affairs of states;

3. State governments overshadowing of local governments; and

4. Skewed distribution of national revenue in favour of the Federal government.

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Ethicists and Regionalists contend that the over concentration of

power at the centre has led to the dominance of a section of the

country’s leadership for too long due the unequal division of the

country’s federating units, especially states. Thus there is the need to

restructure the federation. Some suggest that Nigeria should revert to the

twelve states structure. Others advocate the adoption of the six

geopolitical zone system as federating units. Yet others are of the view

that the country reverts to the earlier Regional system. These will cut

cost of governance, give the federating units more autonomy to generate

revenue and prepare budgets with more capital expenditure than

recurrent which in turn would promote rapid development. There are

also suggestions to abolish states and retain local governments thus

having a two-tier system. While some are advocating for reduction of

federating units some are demanding for the creation of more states.

Thus, the whole debate is confused and disoriented, showing only the

diverse perspective, even though unhealthy on the federal system.

The distribution of national revenue is perhaps the most

contentious issue in the debate. Some sections of the country claim to be

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short changed in the national revenue distribution inspite of what they

claim to be contributing to the national revenue. A careful and critical

look at the federation allocation makes their claims doubtful. There is

no justification for vilifying any section of the country. For instance,

allocations from the federation Account to the states and local

governments for June, 2015 to May, 2016 proves the point.

Gombe and Ebonyi states were the lowest recipients with ₦49

billion each, Lagos was the highest with ₦178 billion, Akwa Ibom ₦173

billion, Delta ₦144 billion; Kano ₦117 billion, Bayelsa ₦95 billion,

Katsina ₦88 billion, Oyo ₦84 billion, Edo ₦66 billion, Ondo ₦71

billion, Ekiti and Nasarawa ₦50 billion each, Kwara, ₦52 billion. A

compelling comparative analysis of the benefits that States get from the

allocations made from the Federation Account reveals that there are

reasonable gaps that makes the calls being made by some sections of the

country uncalled for. The analysis showed that in 2013 Akwa Ibom,

Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa together received 33% of the total Federal

Allocation of that year. Meanwhile the total population of Akwa Ibom,

Delta and Bayelsa states together is equal to that of Kano state only.

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While Kano state received ₦92.2 billion, Akwa Ibom had ₦296.1billion,

Rivers collected ₦247.4 billion, Delta ₦219.2 billion and Bayelsa

₦188.9 billion. Distributing these among each citizen of each state, this

means each citizen in Kano had ₦10,000, that of Bayelsa had ₦111, 000

each; Akwa Ibom ₦76,000, Delta, ₦54,000 each and Rivers ₦48,000

each.

Meanwhile, between January 2011 and December, 2015 the eight

oil producing states of Imo, Ondo, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Bayelsa,

Rivers and Cross Rivers received the 13% derivation totaling ₦2.7

trillion from the Federation Account, and $40 billion was spent by the

Federal Government in the Niger Delta between 2004 and 2015. Added

to these allocations from the Federation Account are the internally

generated revenue of the states which are also substantial. Records gave

the IGR from the six geopolitical zones as follows:

South West ₦339, 954, 417, 927

South South ₦179, 096,237, 974

South East ₦62, 726, 688, 189

North West ₦48, 579, 503, 540

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North Central ₦38, 781, 494, 308

North East ₦26, 117, 872, 322

Source: National Bureau of Statistics

http/:///wwwnigeriastat.gov.ng/report

These figures provide a glimpse or partial picture of how States

benefit from the revenue sharing outcome of the federation. States may

rightly complain of inadequacy of revenues, but sometimes they are to

blame for their plights. In 2003, June to be precise I expressed the view

that the Federal Allocations are sufficient for serious governors. The

challenge is how governors add value to what is received to impact on

the lives of the people of the States. What matters is the sincerity of

leadership and the will to judiciously use the resources available to the

State. With budgetary discipline, reduction in corrupt practices,

transparency and accountability, whatever a State government gets from

federal allocation, the Governor can turn the fortunes of his State

positively. This way, the socio-economic conditions of the citizens can

significantly be improved.

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It appears, little or no attention is given to the issue of how

effectively the different tiers of government have utilized their existing

resources to perform their constitutional functions. Instead, the

emphasis has been put only on reviewing the revenue allocation formula.

It is pertinent to ask: can reformulation of resource allocation or revenue

distribution achieve the objective of better service delivery to the

majority of the Nigerian population? My answer is yes and no. I say yes

if States should be allocated more revenue than both the federal and

local governments, because state governments shoulder more

responsibilities. But the States should be ready to apply the funds

honestly, judiciously and prudently for developmental purpose. I say no

if those in authority are not ready with the requisite will and capacity to

be prudent no amount of revenue distribution reformation can solve the

problems under such a negative condition.

Presently, Local Governments in Nigeria have weak managerial

and administrative capacity to effectively implement programmes and

projects for the welfare and wellbeing of the people. Better educated

people never think of working in the local government system, they

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search for jobs in the urban areas, be it in the public or private sector. It

will be unwise to release huge resources directly to Local Governments

that do not have capacity. The best strategy is to increase allocations to

states along with new framework on how they will utilize the resources

at the local level and improve accountability. Meanwhile the capacity of

the local governments should be gradually strengthened by providing

attractive remunerations and better conditions of service to attract better

and well qualified manpower.

Gombe state receives the least from the federation account

allocations and raises relatively low internally generated revenue but it

has advanced faster and much better than even older states and those that

receive five to seven times or more of its share. The state today is in

much better position in its development than the top ten highest revenue

receivers in the country.

I agree with Professor Elaigwu’s position “the organic entity called

Nigeria has been watered by our own blood, therefore the issue before us

is how we should ensure Nigeria moves forward smoothly, how it

should grow, in what direction and for what purpose”. We should

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understand that citizens look unto the government to generate

development, to provide conducive environment for them to function, to

provide jobs, good education, health care, water, power, roads, security

etc. If states fail to provide for the citizens’ expectations either due to

lack of adequate resources or because of poor, corrupt and inefficient

leadership and system, this will force their citizens to turn to rebellion

expressed in various ways including violence and crime.

STRENGTHENING THE STATES IN NIGERIA’S FEDERATION

There is no country in the world today that operates federalism in

its classical sense, which is perfect, non- overlapping, well balanced

with purely autonomous component units. All levels of government are

concerned with similar issues, namely the security, welfare and

wellbeing of citizens in their respective areas of jurisdiction. Therefore,

it is better to look at and operate federalism as suggested by S. C. Arora

who opined that, “federalism has come to be understood as a dynamic

process of cooperation and shared action between two or more levels of

government with increasing interdependence and centrist trend”. In

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modern globalized international relations and trade; unity and forging of

common front is the best survival strategy.

It is real that there is over-centralization of economic power at

the centre. This has affected the effective and efficient development of

the country and has become the source of criticism, contentions and

even dissention. To reduce the suffocation at the centre, aspects like

agriculture, primary and secondary education, primary and secondary

health care, roads and development of water resources should be handed

over to states. The Federal Government then intervenes on these based

on the principle of fiscal equalization, that is a sort of grant-in-aid to

poor states. The states have good grounds and ability to undertake these

responsibilities because they already have been building, equipping and

providing manpower for schools and tertiary institutions, clinics and

hospitals. They are involved in the development of agriculture,

construction of both urban and rural roads, electrification, water supply

and security. States are better positioned and disposed to reach out to the

majority of the citizens and provide more effective and efficient services

to the people.

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CONCLUSION

The state as a tier of the federal system has been pivotal in the

political and socio-economic development of Nigeria. The agitations

against the federation are largely around revenue distribution. The

constitutional burden put on the state are enormous yet what gets to

them is inadequate. Meanwhile the central government which is further

away from the grassroots takes the lion share. There is the need to

increase the allocation to states to strengthen their capacity to fulfill their

constitutional responsibilities. Local governments do not have the

capacity as the states, but that could be addressed gradually and in

synergy with the state government. However, the states should be more

accountable. I believe if there is prudent management of resources states

could really transform lives in their areas of jurisdiction, citizens will

benefit and have more meaningful live. This would certainly douse

tensions and agitations. This will give the nation the space and peace to

better address fundamental issues of unity, peace and progress that are

vitally needed in an increasingly volatile world.

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