North-Central APC Stakeholders Converge on Ilorin on Restructuring, Reiterate Indivisible Nigeria

As the clamour for the country’s restructuring continues unabated, various stakeholders across the North-central zone of the country on Monday converged on Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, to make their views known to the government on the issue.

 

 Among the stakeholders that attended the forum were labour unions, traditional councils, community development associations, professional bodies, marketers, youth and religious groups.

Apart from all other issues such as fiscal federalism, local government autonomy, power sharing, land tenure, creation of states and independent candidacy, raised by the people, the stakeholders at the event unanimously agreed that power at the centre should be decentralised and the country should remain an indivisible entity..

 

They also agreed that states and local governments were closer to people, thus more responsibility should be given to the states and local government areas of the country for effective delivery of democratic dividends

 

The forum was organised by the North-central zone of  the All Progressives Congress (APC) Committee on True Federalism.

Addressing stakeholders at the event, the  state Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, said the driving factor behind the current agitations for true federalism or restructuring is the redistribution of resources in an equitable manner.

 

He said: “This nationwide dialogue by our party on true federation connects with our expressed commitment to making governance more meaningful to our people by changing the way we are governed, especially in terms of access to and allocation of resources.

 

“While our current economic problems may have weakened our party’s commitment to reforming our federation, the challenges have also strengthened agitation by citizens for what is variously referred to as restructuring, devolution or true federalism.

 

“Subsequently, I hold that any structure that meets the economic and political aspirations of the majority of citizens will be welcomed. Therefore, we should focus on a political economy that provides an opportunity for class elevation and egalitarianism.

 

“How do we generate these spaces for economic empowerment of the majority without creating new layers of bureaucracy and increasing the cost of governance?

 

“My point, in a nutshell, is that this dialogue should explore ways of ensuring the greatest good for the greatest number of our people. That, to me, is what we must address our minds to within the context of our federation or any other structure that we may come up with.

 

“Let me also remind us of the need to balance the desire for local government autonomy or new states against the potential of these entities to survive economically and create the spaces for citizens’ economic empowerment that I alluded to earlier.”

 

The governor further added: “It is my expectation that today’s session will enrich the discourse on true federalism and encourage robust and enlightening debate about how to make our democracy more meaningful to our people.”

 

Also speaking, Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, said the APC administration is the first to make spirited effort organise public hearing on Nigeria’s co-existence.

 

Aregbesola who is also a member of the committee said: “Our country has been existing for over 100 years. Before Nigeria was amalgamated, there had been sections of Nigeria. We

had Northern and Southern protectorates before the 1914 proclamation of Nigeria.

 

”This will be the first time that a conscious effort is being made by a political party in Nigeria to aggregate views, opinions and ideas about how they want to see Nigeria by ourselves being governed. I must commend our party for coming up with the idea and many of us who are moving around our people who are out to voice their opinion of what nature of a nation they desire.

 

“It will be wrong of us to impose our views on the population of Nigeria. That is why we are here. We want Nigerians to tell us how they want the country governed and the meaning and essence of federation.”

 

Niger State Governor, Abubakar S. Bello, who was represented by the Special Adviser on Political Matters, Solomon Nyase, said he would never support the breakup of the country.

“However, in whatever we do or discuss, we must remember Nigerians who are at the receiving end,” he added.