VON DG urges restructuring, devolution of power to states, councils

Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu has thrown his weight behind the clamour for the restructuring of the country.

Okechukwu who is a founding member of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) maintained that the quest for the restructuring of the country would remain a mirage in the absence of democratic culture in the three-tier level of government in the country. Expressing concern over the difficulty by the ruling elites to build national consensus on the issue, he said it was imperative that Nigerians support Executive Order 10 initiated by President Buhari to strengthen the legislative and judiciary institutions at state level and make them more independent and transparent.

Speaking during the 2020 conference of the APC press corps on contestation, he blamed what he termed the “I pass my neighbour syndrome” for the situation.
“Imagine what will happen with state police in the hands of governors who are presiding over rubber-stamp legislatures, unelected local government councils, and pliable state judiciary? Executive Order 10 is the harbinger of true restructuring; as it will remove the shield of I pass my Neighbour syndrome, which camouflages governors sometimes less than transparent dealings.

“In sum, the surest route to the growth of democracy is first sowing the seeds of democracy at sub-national level and discarding I pass my Neighbour syndrome. Failure of which we reinforce governors emperorship and its unintended consequences.”