Regional government will result in excessive power given to governors- Primate Elijah Ayodele

A regional administration will sever Nigeria’s unity, according to Primate Elijah Ayodele, the leader of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, who made this revelation on Tuesday.

Primate Ayodele clarified that a regional government structure will give governors excessive authority and be detrimental to the nation’s interests.

Ayodele claimed it would weaken the federal government, paralyse local government, and give too much power to the governors of the region in a statement released by his media assistant, Oluwatosin Osho.

This is in response to rumours that President Bola Tinubu will receive a bill next week that would propose for Nigeria to transition to a regional governance system.

This comes after the draft measure that went viral online was rejected by the House of Representatives.

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The goal of the bill is to propose legislation that would be known as “The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria New Governance Model for Nigeria Act 2024.” It is titled “A Bill for an Act to substitute the annexure to Decree 24 of 1999 with new governance model for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

According to the bill’s introduction, Nigeria has been governed under Decree 24 of 1999 since it was imposed by a military administration without the approval of the populace. It states that there is a call for a constitution based on a federal/regional system and that the current constitution is not the result of popular consent in Nigeria.

Primate Ayodele responded by declaring that Nigeria would benefit most from a government of national unity.

“Regional government will break Nigeria, weaken the federal government, paralyse local government, and empower state governors,” Ayodele declared in a statement released by Osho. The checks and balances will be removed, and governors who will oversee the region will become overly powerful.

“Too much powers for the governors will be detrimental to the nation. The ideal kind of government to engage all parties is one based on national unity.”

According to the cleric who has always advocated for restructuring, the only way to accomplish this is to have a parliamentary style of government that can guarantee national unity among all political groups in the nation.

He declared that rather than a system of political parties, Nigeria needs a government of coalition.

“A parliamentary system of government is the best; in Nigeria, we need a government of coalition, not a government of political parties.”