The President, African Development Bank Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has proposed  “The United States of Nigeria” as a new name to replace the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Adesina made this call  in a statement by his Special Adviser on Industrialisation, Prof. Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, made available to newsmen on Saturday.

Adesina made the appeal in a speech titled “Making a New Nigeria: Welfarist Policies and People-Centred Development,” which he presented as the winner of the 2024 Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership.

He said that changing the name to the “United States of Nigeria” would redefine the relationship between the states and Abuja, with the states serving as the fulcrum and the centre supporting them rather than lording over them.