Abolish States, Adopt 6 Geo-Political Zones As Federating Units – Atiku

Former Vice President and a chieftain of ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Atiku Abubakar, has suggested the use of the nation’s six Geo-political zones as federating units rather than the current 36-state structure, many of which he declared unviable.

“We must be open to changing the nature of the federating units, such as using the existing Geo-political zones as federating units rather than the current 36 states, of which only a few are financially viable,” he said.

Abubakar spoke in Lagos, Sunday, while accepting the Hero of Nigeria Democracy Award conferred on him by Hall of Grace Magazine.

In a paper entitled, Building a nation that works: My Diary and Way Forward, the former vice president, however, added that political decentralization must be accompanied by economic diversification.

He said: “We need to diversify our economy away from the dependence on oil. We need to create opportunities for our people to engage in diverse economic activities which governments will then tax for revenues.