Renowned economist and Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, has declared that Nigeria’s current 36-state structure is financially unsustainable.
Rewane made this assertion on Wednesday during an interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, where he criticized the country’s high cost of governance.
According to him, Nigeria overspends on administrative overheads rather than channeling resources into development.
“Nigeria cannot afford to have 36 states. It’s unviable. We spend too much money administering,” he stated.
Rewane explained that despite Nigeria being twice the size of California geographically, the number of local governments, states, and administrative layers make governance unnecessarily expensive.
He also referenced the old Western Region, which has now been divided into multiple states, each with governors, commissioners, and aides. Rewane suggested that the country must reconsider its federal structure, possibly exploring regionalism as a more cost-effective governance model.
His remarks have reignited debates around restructuring, devolution of powers, and fiscal federalism in Nigeria, especially amid economic challenges and rising government expenditures.
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