SAN FRANCISCO, September 27, (THEWILL) – A former National Commissioner, Chief Edwin Clark, has declared that restructuring of Nigeria is a must for economic growth and development insisting that the country cannot continue as it is now.
The Ijaw Leader made this known as he addressed the press in Abuja on Wednesday on the perceived lop-sidedness in appointments in the federal government owned oil companies and it’s subsidiaries which tends to favour the northern part of the country, insisting that recent appointments must be reversed for justice.
He argued that a situation where the North corners 36 positions out of 55 as against 19 for the entire South is not acceptable and therefore urged President Muhammadu Buhari to correct the lopsided in the appointments.
“When we restructure this country, you look at what you produce in your area. What is going on today is very bad. It is not good enough, where people leave their states to Abuja to collect money without knowing where that money comes from. They don’t want to look back,” he said.
“In our last constitutional conference, we said that five per cent of our fund should be devoted to exploring other mineral resources.
“Tell me one state in this country that can pay the salaries of their staff. Is it not a shame? Is that a country? Where states go to beg for money and at the end, he who pays the piper, dictates the tunes. So you are making the Federal Government more powerful. That is why devolution of powers is very necessary.
“But let us have a restructuring of this country. So that I know what is been produced in my area, you know what is been produced in your area so therefore if your state is not viable continuously dissolve it, join other people. We cannot continue like this. Work for twelve months, working and have no pay. Nobody will take it, that is not a country, we are not running.
“When people are talking about restructuring they know what they are talking about. We must restructure this country. And I am happy that everybody is now talking about restructuring. We are not talking restructuring to make some people our enemies or their enemies. Restructuring has been going on since 1945 in this country.
“From Richard constitution to Macpherson constitution, to Littleton constitution, to independence. Even during the military, constituent assembly were held for restructuring. Let them create a better Nigeria for all of us, for our children in particular.”
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