An elder statesman in Nigeria and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has said that the restructuring of Nigeria’s economy to the old pattern where the revenue sharing formula was 50 per cent to the region and 50 per cent to the centre would not be negotiable in this present dispensation.
He said that time had come when states will retain 50 per cent of the revenue they generate, while the remaining 50 per cent should be given to the centre where the federal will receive 20 per cent, while the remaining 30 per cent will be shared among all the states.
Clark who disclosed this to aviation correspondents at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, posited that non restructuring of Nigeria would destroy the country, just like non tackling or addressing the issue of corruption will kill Nigeria.
“Things are going chaotic in Nigeria. Former President, Obasanjo is deceiving Nigerians that we don’t need restructuring. That is not true, Nigeria is shaking.
“Nigeria was a federation between 1954 and 1956. At that time, the revenue sharing formula was 50 per cent to the region based on what that region produced, while 20 per cent was set aside for the federal and the remaining 30 per cent was shared among the regions and the centre.
“The postulation of Ango Abdulahi that the revenue from the north was used to build refineries to develop the south was not true. The amalgamation of the north and south in 1914 was due to the fact that the north was a liability and it was the south that had money.
“Former governor of Old Bendel State Ambrose Ali took Shagari to court to  resort to 50 per cent revenue to the region, which is now states and he won the case, as some other Southern governors like Okilo and Clement Isong joined him.
“Bayelsa State and Rivers State where the oil is produced does not have the number of local governments as Kano State alone that has 44 and all of them receive allocation from the federal.
“Everything is wrong in Nigeria. Between now and October, restructuring will start. You cannot hold election without restructuring.
“I am saying that we must restructure Nigeria, otherwise non-restructuring will kill Nigeria, just as Buhari said we will fight corruption or corruption will kill Nigeria.
“What is restructuring? Restructuring simply means; go back to the formula that we had in the First Republic where regions retained 50 per cent of what they produced”, Clark said.

Corlins Walter