Politics
Group Demands White Paper On Nigeria’s Restructuring Reports
A group, the June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations has told the Federal Government to issue a white paper for the implementation of various recommendations on the restructuring of Nigeria.
The Acting Chairman of the group, Mr Linus Okoroji, made the call at a news conference in Lagos on Saturday.
He said that Nigeria’s restructuring could be achieved by the government setting up a constituent committee to review and harmonise various national conference reports, including the Pro-National Conference Organisation report.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has convoked conferences repeatedly over the years, in a bid to engender harmony, good governance, equity, unity and progress in the heterogeneous nation but none of the reports has been implemented by the government.
Okoroji said that the June 12 Coalition, which was in the forefront of the struggle for the actualisation of the June 12 mandate of late Chief Moshood Abiola, had always insisted on Nigeria’s restructuring.
June 12 has since been recognised by government and signed into law as Nigeria’s Democracy Day.
Okoroji, however, said that with Nigeria about to commomerate the June 12 anniversary, there was need to address the real problems confronting the nation which the June 12 mandate had sought to address.
“It is our considered view that restructuring of Nigeria is the true answer to the myriad of challenges besieging the country.
“There are all sorts of crimes all over the place -in the northeast, northwest, north central, southwest, southeast and south south.
“Insurgency, kidnappings, banditry, herdsmen killings, armed robbery, pipelines vandalism and ritual killings, resulting to countless deaths of innocent citizens and destruction of properties worth billions of naira.
“Therefore, we at June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations are left with no option than to insist that only the return to federalism can set Nigeria back to the path of glory, progress, stability and prosperity.
“It will also promote individual citizens, tribal and ethnic liberty, freedom, peace and unity in diversity.”
Okoroji said it would be unfortunate, absurd and bizarre that any individual, group or an ethnic nationality in the 21st century, could be pursuing domination or instigating fear of domination of other individuals, groups or ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.
“What will serve common public good is to promote equity and fairness, unity in diversity and provoke healthy competitions among federating units,” he stated.
The activist, however, lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for being a pacesetter by recognising June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day.
The Senate yesterday received the 2026-2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper from President Bola Tinubu, marking the formal launch of the 2026 federal budget cycle.
In a letter addressed to the upper chamber, Tinubu said the submission complies with statutory requirements and sets out the fiscal parameters that will guide the preparation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
He explained that the MTEF/FSP outlines the macroeconomic assumptions, revenue projections, and spending priorities that will shape Nigeria’s fiscal direction over the next three years.
The letter was read during plenary by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), who urged lawmakers to expedite consideration of the document.
“It is with pleasure that I forward the 2026 to 2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for the kind consideration and approval of the Senate.
“The 2026 to 2028 MTEF and FSP were approved during the Federal Executive Council meeting of December 3, 2025, and the 2026 budget of the Federal Government will be prepared based on the parameters and fiscal assumptions therein,” the President stated.
Last week, the Federal Executive Council approved the fiscal projections, pegging the oil benchmark price at $64.85 per barrel and adopting a budget exchange rate of ?1,512/$1 for 2026—figures expected to significantly shape revenue forecasts and expenditure planning.
After reading the President’s letter, Jibrin referred the document to the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), with a directive to submit its report by Wednesday, December 17.
The Senate adjourned shortly after to allow committees to commence scrutiny of the fiscal framework and continue the ongoing screening of ambassadorial nominees.
Tinubu’s communication to the Senate came less than 24 hours after he transmitted the same MTEF/FSP documents to the leadership of the House of Representatives.
The letter was read on the House floor by the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, who also urged timely legislative action as required by law.
The MTEF and FSP are statutory instruments mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act and serve as the blueprint for Nigeria’s annual budgets.
They outline the government’s fiscal stance, macroeconomic assumptions, revenue frameworks, projected deficits, and sectoral priorities over a three-year period.
The Tide reports that approval by the National Assembly is a prerequisite for the executive to present the Appropriation Bill for the next fiscal year.
In a statement on Saturday, the former Senate Leader stated that the allocation of nominees across states and geopolitical zones falls short of the constitutional requirement for fair representation in the composition of the Federal Government.
The ex-Senate Whip warned that allowing the list to pass could deepen ethnic suspicion at a time when the administration should be consolidating national unity.
He highlighted disparities in the spread of nominees, noting that while some states have three or four slots, others have none. He also cited the inclusion of Senator Adamu Garba Talba from Yobe, who reportedly died in July.
“The entire North-East states have seven nominees in the list. Further checks revealed that the South-West geo-political zone has 15 nominees, while North-West and South-East have 13 and 9, respectively.
“North-Central region has 10 nominees in the list of career and non-career ambassadorial nominee while South-South parades 12 nominees,” Senator Ndume said.
According to him, such imbalances could heighten tensions and undermine Section 14(3) of the Constitution.
“My sincere appeal to President Tinubu is to withdraw this list. At this critical juncture in his administration, he should avoid missteps that could undermine national unity and foster ethnic distrust.
“I know him to be a cosmopolitan leader who is at home with every segment and stakeholder in the country. He should withdraw that list and present a fresh set of nominees that will align with the spirit of the Constitution on the Federal Character Principle,” Senator Ndume added.
He accused the legislators of undermining the sanctity of the legislature and acting as instruments of destabilization.
“The members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have, by their actions since they assumed office, shown that they are political puppets and a clog in the wheels of democratic progress,” Comrade Ememobong stated, adding that “They will go down in history as enemies of democracy and those who made mockery of the legislature.”
“So the easiest way to describe their action is a defection from APC to APC,” he said.
Comrade Ememobong announced that the party would deploy constitutional provisions to reclaim its mandate from those who have “ignobly and surreptitiously” abandoned the platform on which they were elected.
“Consequently, the PDP will take legal steps to activate the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) to recover the mandate gained under the banner of our party which these people have now switched to another platform,” he said.
He urged party members in Rivers State to remain calm and steadfast.
“We urge all party members in Rivers State to remain faithful and resolute, as efforts are underway to rebuild the party along the path of inclusiveness, fairness and equity,” Comrade Ememobong assured.
