It gives me great pleasure, on behalf of the
people and government of Lagos State, to
welcome you my dear colleagues to this
very important meeting of the Southern
Governors Forum (SGF). We will recall that
the maiden gathering of this forum was held in 2001 at the Akodo Beach Resort, Ibeju
Lekki, here in Lagos
The initiative to set up the SGF was received
with mixed feelings at the time. There were
those who read partisan political moves into
the idea. Others saw it as essentially
sectional and potentially divisive while some
dismissed the SGF as another superfluous talk shop of doubtful utility. However, the convener of the inaugural
edition of the forum and my illustrious
predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
gave a robust articulation of the necessity for
the forum in his address to participants,
which remains relevant and pertinent even today. On that occasion he said, “We are of
course aware that our northern brothers
have met regularly and publicly articulated
common positions of interest in the polity.
While some have condemned such meetings, I
believe very strongly that such fora should indeed be actively encouraged and
supported. Our democracy and federal
system can only be strengthened when
various groups and component parts of the
country are free to discuss and pursue their
perceived common aspirations within the framework of the law. There are unquestionably issues of common
interest to us as governors of states in the
southern region of Nigeria. This does not
mean that there are no matters which the
South-West, the South-East, or the South-
South, respectively, may feel constrained to pursue separately at other fora”. From its modest beginning in 2001, the SGF
held at least nine meetings over the
following four years with the last one taking
place again in Lagos on Friday, 25thFebruary,
2005. During this period, the forum became a
significant voice on matters of critical import both to the south and to Nigeria as a whole. Perhaps, we need to quickly remind
ourselves some of the landmark
achievements obtained through the pressure
exerted by this forum in the past. The first
was its collective advocacy for the special
allocation to oil producing states in the federation account which resulted in the
current formula of 13% accruing for
Derivation in allocating revenues from the
Federation Account. Another major victory won towards
strengthening the country’s practice of true
federalism was the declaration by the
Supreme Court in 2002 that the then
prevalent practice of the federal government
deducting monies from the Federation Account as a first line charge for the funding
of Joint Venture Contracts, NNPC priority
projects, servicing of Federal Government’s
external debt, the judiciary and the Federal
Capital Territory (FCT) and other federal
obligations were illegal and unconstitutional. The Supreme Court in that case abolished the
special funds created by the Federal
Government to enable it draw funds from the
Federation Account to pay for matters that
fell within its exclusive responsibility before
sharing whatever was left with the states and local governments. Despite these successes, there is still a lot to
be done. There is certainly a lot to be done
about true federalism; an issue that requires
urgent, meticulous and proactive attention by
this forum. No less disturbing is the failure to undertake
the periodic review of the revenue allocation
formula as provided for by the constitution to
reflect evolving realities. This is another
critical matter that ought to engage this
forum in order to enhance the viability of the states and local governments as well as their
capacity to fulfill their developmental roles in
the polity. All too often, states are
disparaged for always carrying begging
bowls to Abuja in quest of hand-outs from the
federal government. This is a function of our present national
constitution that burdens the federal
government with activities and
responsibilities that rightly fall within the
province of the states. The productivity and
revenue-generating capacities of most of the states are thus stifled thus turning them into
no better than street beggar states incapable
of even meeting routine obligations of paying
workers’ salaries and pensions without
federal support. Lagos State has fought and won several legal
battles since 1999 that has systematically
strengthened her autonomy and enhanced
her fiscal viability. Over the years, the state
has won legal control over the management
of its environment, control of urban and physical planning, regulation of overhead
masts, registration and regulation of hotels
and restaurants and control of her inland
waterways. And these victories do not
belong to Lagos alone, but to all other states
in the federation and which they must explore significantly. I believe that If Lagos has been able to
achieve so much fighting singly, the SGF can
accomplish much more by thinking, planning,
strategizing and acting together. This resuscitation of the SGF is coming at a
most appropriate time. As we are aware, the
Senate and House of Representatives are
currently harmonizing their differences on
the proposed amendments to the 1999
constitution before they are transmitted to the state Houses of Assembly for approval. It
is important for this forum to
comprehensively look at the proposed
amendments with a view to working with
our respective Houses of Assembly to ensure
a coordinated response on our part that will strengthen the practice of democracy,
federalism, constitutionalism and the rule of
law. In our deliberations, particularly on the
pressing need for greater devolution of
powers, responsibilities and resources from
the centre to the states, our preoccupation
must not be with having a weak centre and
strong states or vice versa. Rather, in the words of the Indian politician and statesman,
Bhupesh Gupta, on the floor of the Indian
parliament on May 9th, 1969, “Therefore,
we want a centre which will function on the
basis of democratic principles and safeguard
the unity and integrity of the nation as a whole; whereas at the same time we must
have the states enjoying a wide range of
powers, economic, political and otherwise, in
order that out of this arrangement there
develops a symphony of centre-state
relations to the common good of the people of the country. There is no contradiction
between having a democratic and viable
centre and having at the same time, strong,
democratic states”. On this note, I welcome you all to Lagos once
again, in the confidence that our deliberations
will be productive and in the best interest of
our states and Nigeria. Thank you. Being an address delivered by Governor
Ambode of Lagos State, at the meeting of the
Southern Governors’ Forum, held on
Monday, at the State House, Ikeja, Lagos
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