NEWS
GAPP Backs Tinubu’s Restructuring Agenda, Rejects 42-State Proposal, Demands Total Regional Autonomy
The God and People Prayer Parliament (GAPP), a Benin-based religious group, has thrown its weight behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ongoing restructuring initiative but raised strong reservations over key provisions of the proposed Presidential Six Regional Geopolitical Structural Bill currently before the National Assembly.
The group argued that while the bill represents a bold step towards restructuring Nigeria’s political system, its proposal for a 42-state regional structure would create unnecessary political bureaucracy, increase administrative costs and undermine the economic gains expected from regional governance.
In a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Dr. Dele Oluwatade, GAPP described its position as a constructive contribution to the ongoing constitutional debate, while reaffirming support for the President’s restructuring efforts.
According to the statement, “we will continue to congratulate, President Tinubu for his restructuring efforts, just as we call for Total Regional Autonomy.“
GAPP maintained that the proposed arrangement, which provides for six regions with seven states each, would only replicate the existing burden of governance rather than reduce it.
The group argued that there was no compelling reason for every region to be restricted to seven states, insisting that Nigeria would benefit more from reducing the number of states to just twelve in order to cut the cost of governance and eliminate what it described as the excesses of “drainpipe democracy.”
According to the statement, “we believe that there is no need for each region to have seven states in a regional setting and wish to suggest that the number of states in Nigeria should be crashed to 12, to reduce drainpipe democracy effects of multiple governors with multiple personnel and pleasure orientations.“
It further stated:
“There’s no need to cap how many states a region can give to herself. Either is 70 states per region or whatever, in as much as your 50% to be contributed to other structures outside the states is a constant.“
GAPP argued that reducing political offices and government structures would significantly lower public expenditure.
According to the group:
“By so doing, there will be more money, because there’ll be reduction in overhead generally, in political overhead, administrative overhead, assistance overheads, special assistance, special this, special that.“
It added:
“There’ll also be a reduction in overhead costs, and in so doing, more money will be available to be shared out as the 50% contribution will be higher.
“So the national assemblies should look at this area of 42 states in the proposed bill. America has 50 states, and it’s almost 10 times of Nigeria’s size.“
The religious group also urged the National Assembly to reconsider the current South-South geopolitical arrangement under the proposed regional government, describing the zone as the most disadvantaged in terms of geographical accessibility.
According to GAPP:
“We wish to call on the South-South legislative caucus of the national assemblies to urgently look at the South-South Zone with the view of dividing it into two regions. It’s the most disadvantaged region of all the regions. Take a map of Nigeria and look at South-South Zone.“
The group explained that travelling across the South-South often requires passing through neighbouring regions because of the terrain.
It stated:
“Moving from the eastern part to the western part you have to pass through South-East compulsorily. Even from Benin, you have to pass through the South-East and from Warri, you may have to go through Ughelli to Onitsha, to Aba and so on because of the terrain.“
To address the challenge, GAPP proposed the revival of the old Midwestern Region alongside the creation of a separate Niger Delta Region.
According to the statement:
“We advise that the South-South be divided into two Regions with the former Midwestern region to be resurrected, while the other part remains as Niger Delta region and the two of them are very viable.“
The group specifically appealed to lawmakers from the region to champion the proposal.
It said:
“Let our distinguished senators, Oshiomole and Akpabio, and other House of Rep members quickly look at this South-South peculiar situation and see if it can be divided into two separate regions in this new proposed setting.“
Beyond structural adjustments, GAPP emphasized that the success of any regional government would depend largely on the inclusion of constitutional safeguards capable of preventing the mistakes that led to the collapse of Nigeria’s First Republic.
The group argued that critical legal provisions were omitted from the original regional system inherited from Britain.
According to GAPP:
“What led to the fall of the first regional government was because the terms and conditions were omitted. They left them behind in the UK, because the UK, our political mother, has been running its own since.“
It listed the omitted provisions as follows:
“The terms and conditions that were missing, include the Referendum clause which was omitted, Exit clause was also omitted and the intervention due process clause was missing.“
The statement further argued that:
“This particular intervention clause was responsible for the collapse of the First Republic.“
It maintained that:
“The central government needn’t have jumped into the Western region, to meddle in a regional political problem of the Western region.“
Continuing, the group said:
“The central government was not invited and just jumped into the system as the superpower of the country and disorganized Western region, which snowballed to where we are right now.“
According to GAPP, a properly drafted intervention clause would protect regional autonomy and prevent unnecessary interference by the Federal Government.
The statement added:
“The intervention clause is very important to insulate each region of Nigeria from each other and Nigerians need to be insulated from each other.“
The group also advocated the inclusion of an excision mechanism.
According to GAPP:
“Excision clause is also needed, where a troublesome region can be excised out of the federation under the supervision of the United Nation“
GAPP concluded by commending members of the National Assembly for their ongoing work on the restructuring process while expressing confidence that the proposed regional government would take off as scheduled.
The statement read:
“We thank our National Assembly legislators, for the good job they are doing behind the camera. May God bless you.
“We thank the Mandate Group, who are standby to midwife the promises of Mr. President, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. You are a great asset to our nation, Nigeria and God bless you as you continue to deliberate to meet your deadline to start regional government 1st October 2026.“