Pandef Chairman Igali Says Nigeria Needs Restructuring To End Over-Centralization, Revive Productivity

The National Chairman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Ambassador Godknows Igali, has called for the restoration of true fiscal federalism and greater devolution of powers, arguing that Nigeria’s over-centralised system has weakened productivity, security and accountability.

He made the call at a Conference on Restructuring Nigeria organised by the Citizens Rebirth and Awareness Initiative in Abuja.

Igali stressed that restructuring should not be interpreted as a call for the disintegration of Nigeria, but as an attempt to strengthen the federation by returning meaningful powers and economic responsibilities to the states and regions.

“From the outset, let me state clearly, we from PANDEF are gathered here today not to divide Nigeria, but to save her. We are gathered not to weaken the centre, but to strengthen the federation,” he declared.

He recalled that Nigeria’s founding fathers negotiated a federal arrangement that gave the regions sufficient autonomy to develop according to their resources, priorities and capabilities.

He cited the old Western Region’s establishment of free primary education and Cocoa House, the Eastern Region’s industries, and the Northern Region’s agricultural investments as examples of what was achieved.

“And it worked,” he said, stressing that the regions achieved significant development without depending on monthly allocations from the centre.

According to Igali, the military intervention of 1966 and subsequent decrees fundamentally altered the federal structure by concentrating powers and resources at the centre.

“We kept the name ‘Federal Republic’ but we buried the federal structure. We replaced production with allocation. We replaced responsibility with dependency,” he argued.

He warned that the current Federation Account Allocation Committee system has encouraged states to depend excessively on distributed revenue instead of developing sustainable productive economies.

“FAAC has made governors CEOs of ‘allocation sharing’. Decree 43 made us lazy and dependent on oil. Fiscal federalism will make them CEOs of production,” he stated.

The PANDEF leader also took a swipe at state governors over what he described as their failure to translate regional cooperation into concrete economic development.

He urged them to move beyond meetings and ceremonies to actual investments that benefit their people. “Why can’t they operate as a region to invest in the centre? Not just going off eating, wearing the same clothes and all the other things,” he said.

He also advocated for the establishment of state police as part of wider restructuring, arguing that Nigeria’s diverse security challenges require local intelligence and local responses that cannot be effectively managed from Abuja.

Igali cited the United States, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and India as examples of diverse federations that have remained united while allowing significant powers at sub-national levels.

He called for constitutional amendments to devolve powers, strengthen fiscal federalism, restore greater resource control, and guarantee local government autonomy.