Governors’ Defection To APC Undermine Federalism – Sam Amadi

The Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, Dr Sam Amadi, has criticised the growing wave of state governors defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), warning that the trend runs contrary to the very idea behind the creation of states in Nigeria.

Abia Radio News reports that Amadi expressed his concerns while fielding questions during an interview on Arise Television on Tuesday, February 3.

According to the former chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), states were created to enable sub-national governments harness their own resources and pursue development independently, not to depend on alignment with the Federal Government.

He said, “The idea of having a state is being able to harness your resources and development.”

Amadi argued that the rush by governors to pitch their tents with the party at the centre reflects a deeper structural failure in Nigeria’s economic and political framework.

Raising concerns about the implications of the defections, Amadi questioned whether Nigeria was drifting back to an overly centralised system of governance.

He said, “We have not got economics right in terms of development. So now that everybody is going to the centre, are we going back to centralising?”

The political economist noted that while Nigeria may have made some progress politically, the failure to establish a functional economic structure has continued to weaken true federalism.

“So basically, we’ve not got economics right in terms of development, maybe politics, in some sense,” he added.

Abia Radio News reports that the comments come amid a series of high-profile defections by governors from opposition parties to the ruling APC.

States affected include Delta, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Rivers, Enugu, Kano, Plateau, and most recently, Taraba.