Without much ado let me go straight to the point. Restructuring the country should be based on Ethnic, religion and fiscal self determination. It simply means that all ethnic and ethno religious groups should live within a framework that fairly permits to develop in their own pace and capacity economically and culturally. With this, a group of related states should form a region while the regions themselves will become the federating units. The country should empower diversity as much as possible. Each state must be monoethnic or composed very related ethnic groups to minimize the concept of minority as much as possible. A group of homogeneous states will form a region and the regions will become the federating units. Each federating region should reflect ethnic or religious homogeneity. Thus, we can have federating units of about six regions of average of 6 to 7 states each. The states should 50% of its mineral and tax resources and still have governors in charge with immunity. Constituency allowance for legislators should be scrapped. The house of representatives should be scrapped and replaced with regional commissions. Civil defence, peace corp etc should be scrapped and replaced with regional police. Judiciary should be reorganized to make room for regional supreme courts to where cultural litigations should end. Defence, foreign affairs, central bank and monetary policy, immigration and customs should remain exclusive to the FG.

States should not be scrapped
State should not be scrapped because collapsing states into regions will lead to so much socio-economic disruptions. Rather states will be empowered to control 50 percent of their resources, provide power, security and basic amenities.

Regions should be created
Regions should be made up of similar states and will serve as federating units. Each region should have a regional capital within it that will host the regional commission and some decentralised functions of the FCT which are not able to be decentralised to state levels.

The essence of the regions is economic cooperation and integration. When states in the region cooperate and by making common laws, they can easily harness their comparative advantage for the greater good of the region. For instance, a region can enact common law on wage, low tax on investment, ease of business, harmonize health system or education standards, build rail lines etc this will be easy because of shared interest and value.

Again, cultural development such as language promotion can be done faster at the regional level by enacting a common law. This includes local government need.

Additionally, since much of insecurity is regional and policing has cultural and religious dimensions, there should be regional police. Such a police force should be coordinated at the regional level in terms of standard but commanded at the state level. There should be a central body such as the NJC for the police that will liaise with each regional police to enforce their respective standards.

To break this down the more, the regions can do similar to what European Union does for European states and the regional commissions will do similar to what European commission do by proposing common legislative bills for the state HOA and initiate common development programmes and standards for the states in the region.

New states should be created.
Since states should generate most of their resources and presidency should rotate among federating regions, there will be less state creation demands except in situations to carter for specific ethnic and religious interests, in the spirit of self determination. In this case, we should have new state like Apa, southern Kaduna state, Anioma state, Okun/ southern Kwara state, Igweocha/ Orashi state etc

Rotational Presidency
Presidency should be rotated among the federating regions with a single term of six years. Where a president fails to complete another from the region should complete his term.

A federation of six Regions Viz
North western region
North eastern region
Central region
Western region
Eastern region
Southern region

North Western region should be a religious and ethnic majority region
With a Northwestern commission and regional capital. It should have the following states:

Kano state
Kaduna state
Jigawa state
Kebbi state
Zamfara state
Sokoto state
Katsina state

North Eastern region should be a religious majority/strong minority and ethnic diverse region
With a NorthEastern commission and regional capital. It should have the following states:

Borno state
Gombe state
Adamawa state
Taraba state
Yobe state
Bauchi state

Central region should be a religious and ethnic diverse region
With a Central regional commission and regional capital. It should have the following states:

Niger States
Kogi state
Plateau state
Southern Kaduna state
Nasarawa state
Benue state
Apa state (depending on where they go)


Western region should be a religious diverse and ethnic majority region
With a Western regional commission and regional capital. It should have the following states:
Lagos state
Oyo state
Ogun state
Osun state
Ekiti state
Okun/southern Kwara
Ondo state


Eastern region should be a religious and ethnic majority region
With an Eastern commission and regional capital. It should have the following states:

Anambra state
Abia state
Anioma state
Enugu state
Igweocha/ Orashi state
Ebonyi state
Imo state


Southern region should be a religious majority and ethnic diverse region
With a Southern commission and regional capital. It should have the following states:

Edo state
Delta state
Akwa Ibom state
Cross River state
Bayelsa state
Apa state (depending on where they go)


The remainder of Kwara should join Niger and Kogi. The remainder of Rivers if any, should join Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom.

The entire process would be approve by a referendum

Noneroone:
This model would've halted the country's course to collapse and disintegration.

mrvitalis:

I mostly agree with u.. But there should be a minimum a state should remit to the federation account say 5 billion minimum or 50% of revenue generated depending which is higher


2) there should not be a limit to the number of state to be created... If you can afford it by all means create a state

mrvitalis:

I mostly agree with u.. But there should be a minimum a state should remit to the federation account say 5 billion minimum or 50% of revenue generated depending which is higher


2) there should not be a limit to the number of state to be created... If you can afford it by all means create a state

ElSudani:


Why is minimum important rather than just say 50% of revenue?
If a state cannot meet the 5 billion minimum then what happens?
There's a reason you are taxed based on a certain percentage of your income rather than a minimum amount.

mrvitalis:

They merge with other states and lose their federal representatives slots

Economic viability should be key to States creation

mrvitalis:

They merge with other states and lose their federal representatives slots

Economic viability should be key to States creation

Noneroone:
Pazienza slayerforever Igboid Armageddon
Bulldozer90

OneNigerianist:
What will happen to local government and what will happen during military coup?

pazienza:
I think the states should be scrapped as well as the house of reps.
We are wasting to much money paying governors and their cabinet.
One Governor for each region will save cost.
So instead of 36 governors, you will have 6 governors.
The senate should be part time and only paid per seating.
The current states will serve as units of the new regions with administrators put in place.

This is how to go if the whole idea is about reducing cost of government.

DMerciful:
Leave the 36 states as they are but let them be autonomous, exactly as it is in the US.

Region is not necessary, its creating more public offices and cost of governance. The current structure is fine, just give states total resource control(they can pay 20% to run the fg and 15% into the Federation account to be shared equally) with state police

DMerciful:
Leave the 36 states as they are but let them be autonomous, exactly as it is in the US.

Region is not necessary, its creating more public offices and cost of governance. The current structure is fine, just give states total resource control(they can pay 20% to run the fg and 15% into the Federation account to be shared equally) with state police

gidgiddy:


I think the states should be done away for two reasons

1. The 36 states of Nigeria are illegal creations of the military

2. There are ethnic groups who don't like the states they are in, and would rather be else6

3. The states are an unnecessary drain on public finances in Regionalism, you don't need them.
when you already have Local governments

A referendum should be conducted in 744 Local Governments, and the local governments use referendum to choose which Region they want to belong to, and thevRegions keep at least 51% of all taxes realised there. The referendum could even be done by ward for better accuracy

Noneroone:
kindly point out what is costly in the regional Structure I recommended.

DMerciful:
Leave the 36 states as they are but let them be autonomous, exactly as it is in the US.

Region is not necessary, its creating more public offices and cost of governance. The current structure is fine, just give states total resource control(they can pay 20% to run the fg and 15% into the Federation account to be shared equally) with state police

Noneroone:
It is lie. Regions are necessary. The problem with Nigerians is that they are very pretentious and hide their feelings for bad. Nigerians identify with their ethnic groups before country but pretend a lot to love the country more. Other people will tell themselves the truth and will structure their country according to their differences, not Nigerians.

Several states are too small to serve as federating units with the federal government. When states with common interest bargain collectively as a region, their cultural, religious and economic interests will be better protected. It ensures national consensus and stability in a country with competing value systems.

Secondly, state creation breed local protectionism where neighbouring states make conflicting economic policies and laws which they believe it's for the best interest of their individual states but actually end up forming a barrier to harnessing their comparative advantage.

Can you imagine Lagos having a giant rice mill but is struggling with a rice farm in far away kebbi when lands abound in neighbouring southwest states.

Imagine also Port Harcourt having a seaport while containers fall on their way from Lagos to Onitsha and Aba with exorbitant clearance cost. Even many goods in same PH are not imported through it's port. This will improve drastically for instance, if there is a regional law on reduced tax for goods imported through PH port across states in the region and a railline linking the port to all states in the region. Cost of business will reduce leading to economic growth.

Finally, do you believe region isn't really necessary? Do bandits in the northwest west mind state boundary? Herdsmen in the middlebelt camp in one state to attack another. A lot of kidnappers in Anambra camp in Imo. In this case state police can not do shit. This was why Okowa had to do so security summit with south east governors at some point.
State commanded police needs regional coordination and a single regional intelligence center. To tackle insecurity.

This does not stop states that see no need to integrate from emphasizing on themselves. Pursuing closer integration is not by force but there must be regional Structure.

DMerciful:
We modelled our structure like the US so if the US is working, we can work if we replicate their structure.

Going to the region is gonna complicate things. Many of our states are bigger than Netherlands so why won't they work on their own?

Again, leave the 36 states but give the full autonomy with their own constitution, state Supreme Court and state police.

How big is Croatia, Scotland, Belgium, Cyprus, Lithuania, Macedonia, Monaco? They're as small as states in Nigeria

Noneroone:
we modelled our own like the US but we are not like the US. We have regional ethnicities and religion but the US doesn't have, they are migrants. You have no logical point against regions you are just repeating same thing which is different from being reasonable.

DMerciful:
You aint gonna force it down my throat.

If we have regional ethnicities, perhaps we should be talking of separate countries

Noneroone:
lol forcing down your throat? Who are you to deserve such privilege. You started of by saying it's bad instead of simply saying you don't want it. That's why I logically engaged you. Always read well. I indicated it would've been the best not like I'm currently championing it. It appears some sections of the country want other things. While Hausa Fulanis want the status quo, it's clear Igbos for instance, are on irreversible course to seperation.

DMerciful:
Let me tell you what will happen, hopefully God spare our lives.

Restructuring will be on the basis of states with resource control and state police(states autonomy)

Few more states might be created as recommended by the 2014 confab.