Nigeria Presidential Hopeful Says Will Cede More Power to States

(Bloomberg) -- Former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar said he would relinquish more power to states if elected president next year.

Abubakar, 71, said the current revenue-sharing formula doesn’t give enough to states to invest and be held accountable by their residents.

“The federal government is being accused of everything even when it’s not supposed to be its area of responsibility,” Abubakar said Wednesday at a conference in London. “I want to be able to resolve that so citizens can hold their local leaders accountable for maladministration.”

Abubakar, a member of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party, announced his intention to vie for leadership of Africa’s biggest oil producer in March, setting himself up as a candidate against President Muhammadu Buhari, who will seek a second term.

Abubakar declined to say what he’d do if he didn’t get the PDP nomination.

To contact the reporters on this story: Solape Renner in Lagos at srenner4@bloomberg.net, Yinka Ibukun in Lagos at yibukun@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dulue Mbachu at dmbachu@bloomberg.net, Helen Nyambura, Karl Maier

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