Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, has asserted that President Bola Tinubu will be unable to deliver meaningful economic reforms unless Nigeria’s current political governance structure is fundamentally changed. Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Agbakoba argued that the concentration of power at the federal level is a major obstacle to effective economic transformation.
According to Agbakoba, economic indicators such as a reported 3.3 percent GDP growth are not reflected in the daily realities of Nigerians, who continue to struggle with soaring prices for basic commodities like garri, rice, beans, and palm oil. He emphasized that the benefits of any economic growth are not reaching ordinary citizens, and that the only way to achieve real progress is through significant restructuring.
Agbakoba called on President Tinubu to devolve some of the powers currently held in the exclusive legislative list to state governments, enabling them to play a more active role in economic management and service delivery. He also advocated for state governments to further decentralize authority by empowering Nigeria’s 774 local governments, creating a truly broad-based, three-tier system focused on providing essential services such as education, healthcare, jobs, and social security.
He concluded that Nigerians want practical improvements in their lives, not just statistical growth, and insisted that only a comprehensive restructuring of Nigeria’s governance system will allow for the effective delivery of these services and meaningful economic reform.
