Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Vice President Kashim Shettima has disagreed with those who think that Nigeria’s challenges are due to constitutional flaws, arguing that Nigeria’s problems are rather more of lack of accountability and fiscal responsibility across all tiers of government.
The Vice President who spoke Tuesday night at the 7th edition of the Leadership Conference and Awards in Abuja, said “Nigeria’s federal system is not inherently faulty” but only plagued by lack of fiscal responsibility.
“The problems attributed to the current federal system often stem from the poor management of resources rather than from any inherent flaw in the country’s constitutional architecture,” Shettima said in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media & Communications, Stanley Nkwocha.
“A deficit of collective fiscal responsibility is the issue,” the statement added.
Shettima who was represented by his Special Adviser on General Duties, Dr Aliyu Modibbo, urged those in positions of authority at all levels of government to be transparent and show good example.
“To improve our federalism, we must not lose sight of the dysfunctions that have been allowed to fester under the current system,” he said.
Continuing, the statement read: “If we at the national level deliver on our promises, if our governors manage their allocations with prudence, if our local governments are truly autonomous and accountable if every kobo is deployed with the people’s interest in mind, then the structure will serve us well.”
According to the Vice President, Nigeria does not need a carbon copy of federal systems from other countries like Canada or Switzerland, but a model that reflects its own “social, ethnic, and demographic complexities.”
“We must resist the temptation to romanticise foreign systems or prescribe imported solutions that fail to account for our distinct social, ethnic, and demographic complexities.
“What we seek, therefore, is not a photocopy of another country’s model, but a federal structure tailored to our aspirations. It must reflect our values, ensure accountability, and foster development at all levels. The only road to such a destination is through sincere dialogue,” he stated.
Shettima highlighted efforts by the Tinubu administration to make the federal structure more effective.
He sighted the push for local government autonomy and the Supreme Court’s recent pronouncements on the issue as part of Tinubu’s efforts to sanitize the system.
“This administration, under the leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is confronting this challenge directly. We have chosen the path of reform. It is bold, often difficult, but necessary.”
The Vice President also said recent policy choices—such as fuel subsidy removal and ongoing tax reforms—are intended to ensure fiscal responsibility and create room for states to grow.
