Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and human rights activists, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) and Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) yesterday, disagreed over the zoning of political positions in the country.
Their differences on zoning were made public at the presentation of a book entitled: ‘ Zoning to unzone the politics of power and the power of politics in Nigeria’ written by Ozekhome.
While Agbakoba and Ozekhome, author of the book believed that zoning of political offices is a panacea for the country political woes and that its proper adaptation would give minority ethnic groups a fair representation in government and opportunities to produce State governors and president, Oshiomhole said the country’s problem are the elite who does not believe that Nigeria is a nation.
The governor said instead of addressing issues of wealth distribution such that “riches can be zoned to the poor,” the elite choose to ignore this fundamental problem that has held the country down.
Oshiomhole agreed with Agbakoba that the country operates a unitary system contrary to its federal constitution. He said the problem is also that of the elite, who should lead the struggle to get things right. He challenged senior members of bar to lead the protest to the National Assembly in this regard.
The governor said it is unfortunate that the Revenue Allocation Formula Act, which ought to be reviewed every four years, has been in use for more than 15 years now.
Earlier, while reviewing the book, Dr. Agbakoba noted that the country has not been able to manage its diversity and that the people fight over everything.
In his remarks, Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu said the country must produce and add value to its available resources.
He said the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is poised to lead the country to diversify its economy that has eluded the country since independence in 1960. (Daily Sun)
