Chairman of Isu/Okoma in Oyo state and stalwart of Oyo state Ohanaeze Ndigbo Jerry Uzor has kicked against the debate about the creation of more state in Nigeria.
Speaking in reaction to the move by the National Assembly to create more state, Uzor opined that not every request should be granted else it will result in to something negative.
He explained that the viability of the state should be the major consideration instead of sentiment noting that the idea of creating the states because of other reasons besides viability should be jettisoned.
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo staunch member posited that many of the request for the creation of state are not borne out sound economic reasoning but political observing that the National Assembly should not pander to the will and caprice of agitation for more state other wise the country will not be able to cope with it.
He advised that this should be done on zonal basis of the geopolitical of Nigeria warning that the with the way things are going the nation will find it hard to sustain the state when eventually created since many of them will not be viable at the end of the day.
On the tax reform bill, he stated that this is a welcome development as it will make many Governors think out of the box rather than being lazy.
He bemoaned the situation where tax is taken in the south and shared to the northern part of the country on the basis of federalism and fiscal federalism which does not recognize derivation principles in order to encourage production and productivity.
He advised that the major consideration should be derivative and not population or size stressing that if this is not used then it amounts to robbing Peter to pay Paul.
