Renowned legal expert and senior advocate of Nigeria Olisa Agbakoba has analyzed why President Bola Tinubu’s administration faces fundamental obstacles in achieving meaningful economic transformation. The former Nigerian Bar Association president identified systemic issues within Nigeria’s governance framework as the primary barrier to effective reforms, rather than shortcomings of the current leadership.
Agbakoba highlighted the excessive concentration of power at the federal level as a critical impediment, noting that the 68 items on the Exclusive Legislative List create bureaucratic bottlenecks that stifle innovation and subnational development. He argued that no administration can implement sustainable economic changes without first addressing this structural imbalance through constitutional amendments that grant states greater autonomy.
The legal luminary pointed to the contradiction between Nigeria’s federal label and its unitary operation, where states remain financially dependent on monthly allocations from Abuja. This system, according to Agbakoba, discourages local productivity and creates a culture of dependency that undermines economic reform efforts. He cited examples of successful federations where subnational units drive development through localized policies and resource control.
Agbakoba also identified the absence of a development-focused constitution as another major constraint, noting that Nigeria’s current legal framework prioritizes political governance over economic empowerment. He suggested the Tinubu administration would achieve better results by championing constitutional restructuring before implementing economic policies, as most reform initiatives become diluted within the existing centralized system.
The senior advocate recommended immediate commencement of constitutional review processes to devolve power, reduce governance costs, and create enabling structures for economic transformation. He maintained that without these foundational changes, even well-intentioned reforms would continue yielding suboptimal results.
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cc: Daily Post Ng
