By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
Calabar — Senate Leader, Chief Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, has called for the review of the terms of the country’s federalism, saying that what exists today is only in name and not in practice.

Ndoma-Egba, who made the call in an interview in Calabar, Cross River State, explained that the bulk of the revenue from natural resources in different parts of the country were concentrated at the centre to the detriment of the states.

He said: “The time has come for us (National Assembly) to review, especially the fiscal terms of our federalism because a situation where the bulk of the revenue remains at the centre to the detriment of the states is unhealthy.

“A situation where every month every state rushes to Abuja, cap in hand to collect allocations is unhealthy because the states are no longer generating enough revenue to meet their needs, they all depend on the centre. A situation where you have one federal policy for labour matters is unhealthy, it is not in the spirit of true federalism.”

He said he was not in any way against the creation of new states, especially in his state (Cross River) and would make sure that if any state was to be created by the National Assembly, his state would benefit. He, however, advised that the existing states should be strengthened to meet their financial obligations.

He noted with dismay that some of the existing states were not viable because the concentration of revenue at the centre and called for the review of the true meaning of federalism to strengthen the states.