BEVERLY HILLS, June 25, (THEWILL) – Southern Nigeria leaders under the auspices of the Southern Leaders Forum, SLF, on Sunday commended governors serving under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for collectively supporting the demand for the restructuring of Nigeria.
Against the backdrop of recent regional agitations and the quit notice handed to Igbos residing in the North by Arewa youths, the governors had thrown their weight behind calls for restructuring, saying that the demand by different groups for political restructuring or true federalism could be met through adjustment in Nigeria’s federal system.
The governors, among other things, suggested a review of the unwieldy exclusive list in the constitution, review of the revenue sharing formula between the federal government and the federating units, and for the political and fiscal decentralisation of an indivisible Nigeria.
Reacting in a statement entitled, “APC Governors on Nigeria in Crisis: Quo Vadis?” and signed on behalf of the coalition by the trio of Mr. Yinka Odumakin, Senator Bassey Henshaw and Dr. Okey Anueyiagu, the body said the Progressives Governors’ Forum, PGF, deserves commendation for speaking the truth at a crucial time in the nation’s history.
They said: “We could not agree more with the PGF and wish to state that we accept that Nigeria should remain an indivisible entity, but the terms must be right for all the constituent units of Nigeria to have a feeling of inclusiveness and acceptance so that we can live together in peace and harmony with all groups pursuing their happiness according to their aspirations.
“Although such adjustment will not, on its own, address the root and branch of Nigeria’s challenges, it is worth pursuing in order to meet the demands of various Nigerian groups.
“The focus of this restructuring is to restore the principle of non-centralisation of power in the country’s federal arrangement being the defining element of a federal polity. There are options to consider in this regard.”
“In the same vein, we noted the observation by the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, that ‘we have agreed to live together’, with the observation that the decision was made by the British amalgamation.
“It is unfortunate, however, that we have not been allowed to move beyond the amalgamation to integration by fashioning the framework necessary for peaceful co-existence in a multi-ethnic country.
“We obviously cannot in all honesty say our ‘agreement’ to live together has terms such as herdsmen terrorising farmers or cows chasing pupils out of their classrooms.
“Neither does it involve the palpable injustices built into the union to make some sections of the country subservient to the other through the politics of exclusion, command and conquest that characterise our union presently.”
The leaders from the South also stated that they were in agreement with the APC governors in this regard and would continue to push for the restructuring of an indivisible nation on equitable terms.
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