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Restructuring is not about Dividing the Country into Regions” South-South Governors to Buhari
South-South governors have disagreed with President Muhammadu Buhari over his comments that there is nothing to restructure in Nigeria.
According to the governors, Nigeria’s federalism, security architecture, and revenue sharing formula, among others, need to be restructured to save the country, rather dismembering it.
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President Buhari, who was represented as special guest of honour by Executive Secretary of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and fiscal Commission, RMAFC, Alhaji Mohammed Bello Shehu, at the launch of the Kudirat Abiola Sabon Gari Peace Foundation, in Zaria, Kaduna State, said advocates of restructuring, secession are dangerous and naïve.
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Noting that his government had no time for “any obscure conference” to discuss the way forward for the country, Buhari said there is nothing to restructure other than getting the states to allow the local councils function and make the judiciary independent.
President Buhari added that some of those agitating for restructuring are not informed, do not understand what they want restructured and may not have read the 1999 Constitution.
Reacting to the President’s position, chairman of South-South Governors Forum, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Olisa Ifeajika, said: “I don’t know who is not informed here. Restructuring is not about dividing the country into regions as it were.
The 17 Governors of the Southern states have come together and talked about restructuring, they are not just joking.“They know what they are talking about; they are very involved and other people have started talking about it. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar brought it to the front-burner about five, six years ago.“Atiku Abubakar could not have been uninformed and every other person talking about it.
Professor Wole Soyinka, two weeks ago, said if the country did not decentralise, it would disintegrate.“So I do not know which Nigerian will talk about restructuring now that will make meaning other than what prominent persons have spoken about.