Press Releases

Fashola Advocates Review Of FG's Powers To Reflect True Federalism

May 26, 2010 - Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Wednesday renewed his call for a review of the powers currently being exercised by the Federal Government, saying the powers limit its obligation and responsibility to the Federating units.

Governor Fashola who spoke at the Transcorp Hotels in Abuja at a US-Nigeria Bi-National Commission Working Group meeting on the Impact of Good Governance, Transparency and Integrity in Investment and Economic Progress added that ideally the powers of the Federal Government should be interventionist and catalytical.

The Governor who had been invited along with his Katsina State counterpart to share their State's best practices and challenges noted that the Federal Government should understand that it is an agent of the federating states and should not regard itself as the superior government but only a delegatee of the powers vested in each of the 36 states to act in their common interest.

The Governor explained that beyond this the states should be allowed to use their local expertise and knowledge to determine what the people want at any particular period in time because they are best suited to exercise such powers.

Governor Fashola explained that the challenges facing nations remain the same irrespective of the location, adding that it is only the intensity of the challenges that differ.

Said he: "In some parts, the issue is about access to qualitative health care while in some it is the issue of the facilities being readily available but with limited access due to the fact that it is very expensive"

He also said democracy remains the best form of government which allows broad participation by the people, advising that the people should only see the process of elections as a competition for service.

Governor Fashola tasked the electorates to desist from putting undue pressure on political office holders saying irrespective of the political reforms that may be put in place this attitude will negate the gains of the reforms if not changed.

"Aspiring to public office should be a call to service and not a call to the development of self. They should realize that public officers are servants of the people rather than inundating them with issues of personal interests", he added.

While supporting the choice of a federation for Nigeria, Governor Fashola declared, "We are different people of different cultures, nations different within a nation and people with different assets. The Federal system has allowed each state to develop at its own pace".

The Lagos State helmsman disclosed that in the last three years all the 36 states Governors in Nigeria have faithfully implemented their budgets thereby contributing significantly towards getting the country going.

Citing the Lagos experience, Governor Fashola said the present administration at its inception provided an opportunity for every citizen and every resident to be part of the decision making process by undertaking a local Government tour round the state, asking them what they wanted.

He said at each of such locations, officials of the State Government not only took an inventory of what the people wanted but also validated the requests by talking to traditional rulers and opinion leaders before returning to Executive Council sessions to give instructions to officials on what steps to be taken.

Governor Fashola noted that based on the findings; the State designed its budget on a yearly basis from a four year plan on policy and programmes instead of adopting a knee jerk policy.

He added that some of the measures adopted by the present administration in achieving its objectives include a determination to deliver on commitments which it made and setting rigorous timelines for such set objectives, explaining that even revealing that even in instances where extraneous factors made it impossible, the government explained to the people.

In his words: "We enlightened our people that voting for your preferred leaders alone should not be the ultimate, but you should be ready to empower the State Government by contributing to the commonwealth through your payment of taxes regularly"

Governor Fashola said in the process of ensuring that the people contributed to the commonwealth, it discovered that the tax administration process was cumbersome and worked on it in such a way that people were allowed to assess themselves and pay, even as the Government ensured that there were checks and balances to avoid abuses.

In terms of maintenance of security, the Governor told the audience that government decided that security would be better tackled by engaging in collaborative efforts with the people both the in the public and private sectors.

He explained that the collaboration led to the setting up of a Security Trust Fund which is responsible for managing the proceeds of the fund and holding regular meetings with the public to give an account.

The Governor said another innovation brought about by the present administration is the measuring of impact of what it has done, saying an example of this is felt in the provision of water where government determines how many more people are getting access to the water after the commissioning and how it is impacting on the lives of people, saying the same applies in other areas of infrastructure provision.

"We are always communicating with the people on what they are getting for making an investment in democracy and giving us the opportunity to serve them", Governor Fashola stated.

Speaking earlier on the Katsina State experience, the State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Shema emphasized that good governance must be promoted in a democratic setting for achieving of set goals.

Governor Shema said it is only through good governance that all the tiers of government from the Local Government to States and Federal levels can serve the people well.

He said in Katsina, the State Government usually work hand in hand with all the tiers of government to take requests of areas of needs from people before deciding on what to give them.

The Governor also advised Nigerian politicians to always see elections as a game that must be won and lost while ensuring that bridges are built after such elections across all divisions that hitherto existed.

The head of the United States delegation and Under Secretary, Mrs Maria Otero while speaking said Nigeria and the United States have a lot to learn from each other in terms of the Federal system they are operating.

She said despite the fact that transparency and accountability have faced challenges in Nigeria, the States can still do a lot better than the present situation.

Mrs Otero said in the United States, a State like California was pivotal in serving as a laboratory for policy initiative that was adopted by other States in US especially in the area of the Environment.

She commended the Lagos State Government for implementing its budget with transparency, saying there are lessons to be learnt from best practices and good governance from the State.

Also present the event were the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Odein Ajumogobia (SAN), members of the Diplomatic Corps and senior government functionaries.