Some States Which Should Have Been Local Govt Areas Were Created Just To Appease Some Military Officers – Alibaba

Renowned public affairs commentator and media entrepreneur, Atunyota Akpobome, famously referred to as Alibaba, expressed his opinion that certain Nigerian states would be more effective if designated as local government areas.

Naija News reports that the veteran comedian made these comments during his guest appearance on Tuesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program.

The social commentator mentioned that the military formed certain states to appease specific commanders, who were later appointed administrators.

Alibaba said, “Some states were created just to appease some military officers. ‘Oh, this guy is a senior military officer; he comes from this area; we can’t give him a state now; let’s just create a state and take care of those people.

“We want to create four states in the north, let’s just balance it with some states in the south so that it will look deliberate because some of the states that were created needed to be local governments.

“Up till now, we have states that if they do not get federal allocations for three months, there will be problems in the state. Meanwhile, those same states have enough natural resources.”

Alibaba mentioned that Nigeria’s various challenges began when the federal military government instructed the regions and states to pool all their funds into the national treasury, thereafter allocating funds to them through the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) as they deemed fit.

He also criticized the 1999 Constitution inherited by Nigeria from the military administration of former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd), during the transition from military to democratic rule in May 1999.