Lagos State governor, Akinwumi Ambode, stated that the Federal Government must allow states to develop natural resources within their domains and create necessary infrastructure that would attract investors.
“Governors are the owners of the land in their states but underneath the land and even inside the water – the Federal Government is structured in a way that it controls those potentials. In a situation where the states are being spoon-fed, because I call the federation account more or less like spoon-feeding.
The Federal Government collects total revenue on Value Added Tax (VAT) and various revenues on behalf of all of us and makes us to come to Abuja and more or less shares it to us as peanuts, thereby not allowing us to reach our potentials as competitive states individually,” he said.
Ambode spoke at the 4th Progressives Governance Lecture in Kaduna, themed: ‘Building The Economy of States: Challenge of Developing Inclusively Sustainable Growth.’ The event was attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and the 23 governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC).