There are indication that some states of federation may become insolvent within the next 10 years unless there is urgent economic restructuring in the country.
This was the contention of the Director General of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria, DAWN, Seye Oyeleye, while calling on the 36 States of the federation to advocate for economic restructuring, ahead of an impending doom that awaits the nation’s economy in the next 10 years.
He said this while chatting with select journalists in Ibadan over the weekend; expressing concern over what he termed ‘Almajeri Economy,’ whereby states go to Abuja cap in hand every month to collect monthly allocation, while local opportunities are left unharnessed.
Urging the state governors to go back to the drawing board and rethink the economy of their states to make them self-sustaining, Oyeleye insisted that the oil economy the country runs is already dwindling.
He said, “As things are, the type of economy we run as a nation is not sustainable. In the next 10 years, many states will collapse because the oil revenue we rely on is dwindling.
“There is urgent need for governments at state and regional level to go back to the basis and rescue their respective regions and states. Today, many states are left with nothing at the end of the month after payment of salaries.”
Calling on the Federal Government to encourage regional integration to foster development, Oyeleye pointed out that overdependence of the federating units on the centre has become a burden to both parties.
