SOUTHERN LEADERS EXTOL APC GOVERNORS FOR CALLING FOR COUNTRY’S RESTRUCTURING

Southern Leaders of Southern Nigeria under the aegis of the Southern Leaders Forum (SLF) congratulated the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) for collectively supporting the demand for Nigeria's restructuring in the context of recent regional unrest and the quit notice of Igbo's residents in the North by groups of youth.

Transferring their message 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 governors wished the recommendation to speak the truth at a crucial time in the nation's history.

Governors have thrown their weight behind Nigeria's calls for restructuring, saying that the demands made by different groups in terms of political restructuring or real federalism could be met by adjustment in the Nigerian federal system.

They said: “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.”

Governors, among others, suggested examining the heavy exclusive list of the constitution, examining the formula for revenue sharing between the federal government and the federal units and the political and fiscal decentralization of an indivisible Nigeria.

Responding to the statement, the Southern leaders said yesterday: “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.

“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.”

In this regard, the leaders from the South said they were in alignment with the PGF and would continue to push for the restructuring of an indivisible nation on equitable terms.