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El-Rufai’s Panel Submits Restructuring Report
The committee set up by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to look into the issue of restructuring has submitted its reports.
The Governor Nasir El Rufai-led committee on True Federalism submitted its report to the National Working Committee of the APC, yesterday.
The committee in its reports called for more devolution of powers to the states.
Some of the key recommendations are resource control, making local government an affair of states, constitutional amendment to allow merger of states, state police, state court of appeal and independent candidacy.
The committee, which was set up in August 2017 to formulate the position of the party on true federalism, which clamour gained currency over a year ago.
The committee initially had 10 members but this was later expanded to 23 members.
According to its mandate, the committee was to distill the true intent and definition of true federalism as promised by the party during the last electioneering campaign, and to take a studied look on the report of the various national conferences, especially that of 2014; and come up with recommendations.
Submitting the report at the party’s secretariat, Mr. El-Rufai said 8,014 people were engaged in the process of their research and that Nigerians indicated interest in 24 issues.
Out of these 24 items, the committee made recommendation on 13 in its report, which has four volumes.
“After four months of rigorous research, we are pleased to inform the chairman we have completed our assignment and are here to present our report. Our report is in four volumes,” the committee chairman said.
“The report is in four volumes with Volume One containing background information of the research and recommendations; Volume Two, Action plans from the research to implement its resolution and draft of bills; Volume 3, Media reports and the result of the online survey of the issue; and Volume Four, the appendix- summary of all memoranda received.
“These items are; creation of states, merger of states, delegation principle, fiscal federalism, devolution of power and resources between state, federal and local governments, federating units, form of government, independent candidacy, land tenure system, local government autonomy ,power sharing and rotation, resource control, types of legislature, demand for affirmation for vulnerable groups;people with disabilities, women and youth, ministerial appointment, citizenship, state constitution, community participation, minimum wage, governance, judiciary, state re-alignment and border adjustment, circular status of the federation; and referendum.
The committee urged that the police and prisons be moved from the exclusive to the concurrent list.
According to the report, the state government would be allowed to establish state police to handle certain crimes as well as state prisons.
The committee equally recommended independent candidacy but with a clause that individuals who intend to stand for elections must not have been a member of any political party at least six months to the elections in which they intend to contest.
On local government autonomy, the committee said since “one size does not fit all,” the states should be allowed to legislate for local governments, including creating more local government councils.
