the Lagos State House of Assembly, Bisi Yusuf, has
described current attempts to create additional states in
the country as unnecessary and a waste of scarce
resources.
Yusuf, who made his position known on the subject matter while speaking to Assembly correspondents yesterday, said that many
of the already existing states are not viable and can
barely stand alone without depending on allocations
from the centre.
The lawmaker was reacting to the recent approval for the
creation of more states by delegates at the ongoing
National Conference. Delegates gave approval for the
creation of 18 additional states.
Yusuf argued that rather than create more states, what
the country needs is a purposeful and sound leadership
that would manage its resources effectively.
"How many of the existing states are viable? We do not
need more states because we have not even been able
to take adequate care of the ones that we have. No
matter how many states we create, it would only amount
to providing more 'jobs' for the 'boys'.
"There is high level of poverty in many of the states and
a lot of people live in penury. A lot of Nigerians are poor
and the resources available are not even well utilised by
the government.
"Many of the sectors of the economy are not functioning
properly. The polytechnics have been on strike for over
eight months, health workers are now on strike, power
supply is still epileptic, many of our roads are
dilapidated.
"Does it not make economic sense for the country to
channel its resources to the already existing states and
ensure that all the states have adequate infrastructure?
When states are created and resources are not
judiciously used, it becomes a waste", he stressed.
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