Former Minister of Information and ex-President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, has warned that Nigeria could face disintegration before the 2027 general elections if decisive efforts are not made to restructure the nation.
Speaking at the unveiling of two books authored by veteran journalist, Ike Abonyi, Chief Nnia Nwodo, in his keynote address, ‘How Did We Get Here?’, criticises Nigeria’s political structure, branding it a “Unitary constitution disguised as federalism” that continues to fall short in tackling the nation’s enduring problems.
Nwodo, in his address, advocated for power devolution to the regions, sub-national control of resources, and a shift to fiscal federalism—warning that the absence of these reforms could lead Nigeria into a full-blown constitutional breakdown.
“Nigeria must restructure and give its component units sovereignty over its natural resources, provided they pay royalty or some form of taxation to the Federal Government to maintain federal responsibilities like external defence, foreign missions, customs, and immigration. In this way, true democracy will evolve, and the speed of development will increase.”
“If it does not happen, we will have no alternative but to go our separate ways,” he said.
New Telegraph reports that the event, which took place on Wednesday at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, drew prominent political figures such as the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, PDP stalwart, Alhaji Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, represented by PDP Governors’ Forum DG, Emmanuel Agbo.
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Raising concerns over the nation’s declining socioeconomic indicators, the former Ohanaeze leader underscored the severity of issues like rampant youth unemployment, rising poverty levels, and failing infrastructure.
He cited the United Nations World Population Prospects 2025 report, which ranks Nigeria with the lowest global life expectancy at 54.8 years, and referenced World Bank data estimating an annual loss of over \$1 billion due to the country’s poor road infrastructure.
Also speaking at the event, former PDP National Chairman Prince Uche Secondus accused President Bola Tinubu of presiding over what he termed the “gradual liquidation” of both Nigeria’s democracy and its economy.
“We are still far from getting to a point where we can say we have democracy. We don’t have democracy in our country. What we have is a platform for winning elections. Our country is gradually moving in the wrong direction to a place where you can say Nigeria is on the verge of liquidation presided over by Bola Tinubu,” Secondus stressed.
Secondus also aimed at Nigerian political parties, criticising them for their lack of ideological direction and consistency. He contrasted this with South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC), which he praised as a resilient and enduring political institution.
