Dr Eddie Mbadiwe, former member for Ideato federal constituency on Friday said devolution of power from centre to the states was necessary to douse political tension and build a united Nigeria.
Mbadiwe gave this advice on Monday in an interview the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, while reacting to the constitutional amendment process by the National Assembly.
He faulted the refusal of the national assembly to grant power to states, saying “it is a big mistake’’.
‘’Failure to devolve powers to the states is a big mistake because it will have diffused tensions.
“States need to be empowered in order to carry out some capital projects like electricity generation etc,’’ Mbadiwe said.
The former lawmaker, who commended the National Assembly for granting autonomy to local governments, said it was good for a healthy federalism.
He said that such autonomy would trigger development in the grassroots, which would go a long way in complimenting the roles of the Federal Government.
Mbadiwe said that the era of extortion and exploitation of council chairmen by governors was over with the autonomy.
According to him, INEC supervising local government elections will also bring in credibility in the elections.
The former lawmaker, who described the development as a victory for the rural people, urged INEC to live above board.
He, however, lauded the National Assembly for amending the 1999 Constitution, which he said was not a creation of the people.
The National Assembly recently did a clause to clause amendment of the 1999 Constitution.
(Source: NAN)