Politics
2023: Group Wants All Presidential Candidates To Prioritise Restructuring While Campaigning
A pro-restructuring organisation, The Core Federalists, has called on 2023 Presidential candidates to put the restructuring of the country atop their priorities as the campaign for the general elections draws closer.
While reiterating the need to urgently restructure the country, the group insisted that all presidential candidates must make the issue a fundamental objective of their campaigns to assure Nigerians that the next president will restructure Nigeria in a way beneficial to all zones of the country.
This, the group, which was founded by the late Afenifere spokesman, Yinka Odumakin and a few others, believes will go a long way to ensure equity, justice, peace and the elusive development in Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, signed by Ambassador Humphrey Orjiako, Chief Handel Okoli and Comrade Mark Adebayo, the Core Federalists stated that, “As the 2023 general elections knock on our doors, the Core Federalists as an organisation, has noticed with serious concern that the issue of restructuring Nigeria has not gotten the kind of attention it deserves in the conversations around the elections.
“We, in the CF, believe that there is no issue more important and urgent than restructuring in present-day Nigeria due to the fact that almost all the challenges the country is battling with – insecurity, underdevelopment, economic backwardness, massive corruption and inter-ethnic distrust, religious violence and allied crises – are not unconnected with the warped structure of the country that is not only unsustainable but also unworkable. Obviously, it has not worked for us judging by Nigeria’s recent and not-so-recent history.
“We like to remind Nigerians in general, those in power today and those who aspire to be in power in a short while that Nigeria’s only golden era was the period it ran a system of true federalism from 1958 to 1966 before military putsch truncated the first republic and the federal structure that sustained it up to that point. Nigeria functioned far better under real federalism than it has under a unitary system that has drawn it backwards by several decades and rendered it incapable of competing with the same league of nations like Singapore, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil and others”.
“Restructuring Nigeria to make it function optimally as a country of a multiplicity of language, culture and religion is an urgent imperative. We believe strongly that development and peace will continue to elude Nigeria if the federating units – geopolitical zones, states and local government areas – are considered mere appendages to the so-called Federal Government to which the former must kowtow for monthly handouts without the capacity to determine the direction they want their communities to proceed and the development templates they wish to apply as relevant to their environments. There is no gainsaying the fact that this type of system discourages productivity and kills creativity and consequently stifles development.
“It is even worse that the federating units are denied the authority and plans of how they can effectively defend themselves against internal aggressors that terrorise their communities. Nigeria is today at war with itself, yet the federating units are denied the authority to protect themselves by a Federal Government that has woefully failed to secure the territorial integrity of the country.
“One reality that we cannot run away from is that, considering the current state of the country’s insecurity, even the seat of government at the center is threatened by terrorists and that Nigeria is a rapidly failing country that must be urgently rescued. The recent easy access and attack on the Kuje prison protected by the military, the Police and other security agencies points exactly to that reality.
“We demand that each of the presidential candidates running for office in the 2023 presidential election make public their restructuring plans for Nigeria.
“This is informed by the indubitable fact that there is no manifesto or leadership capacity, no matter how good on paper and in practice, that can deliver the required results in a unitary system that currently subsists in Nigeria. A perfect policy thrust will be frustrated by a faulty, badly engineered structure that Nigeria currently operates.
“More than promises, we demand assurances from the presidential candidates that whoever wins will make restructuring Nigeria a distinct priority. We call on all Nigerians to see restructuring as the irreducible minimum agenda that we require to save the country and should make it a point of critical action to support and vote for a presidential candidate who is unequivocally committed to restructuring Nigeria. That is our saving grace that must be embraced by all,” the statement read.
The Tide source reports that the committee, reportedly backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, is making moves to reclaim the Wadata Plaza headquarters months after it was sealed following a violent clash between rival factions of the party.
Senior officers at the FCT Police Command told our source that while they had not received an official briefing, police personnel would be stationed at the secretariat and other key locations to maintain peace.
The Acting National Secretary of the Mohammed-led committee, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, announced last week that the secretariat would reopen for official activities on Monday (today).
He dismissed claims that ongoing litigation would prevent the reopening, saying, “There are no legal barriers preventing the caretaker committee from resuming work at the party’s headquarters.”
However, the Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) has fiercely rejected the reopening move, insisting that Sen. Anyanwu and his group remain expelled from the PDP and have no authority to act on its behalf.
Speaking with The Tide source, the committee’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, declared: “They are living in fool’s paradise. The worst form of deceit is self-deceit, where the person knows he is deceiving himself yet continues with gusto.
“Even INEC, which they claim has recognised them, has denied them. They are indulging in a roller coaster of self-deceit.”
Mr Ememobong further revealed that letters had been sent to both the Inspector-General of Police and the FCT Commissioner of Police, stressing that the matter was still in court and warning against any attempt to “resort to self-help.”
“The case pending before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik was instituted by the expelled members. They cannot resort to self-help until judgment is delivered,” he said.
He warned that reopening the secretariat would amount to contempt of court.
A senior officer at the FCT Police Command, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that officers would be deployed to the area to avert a repeat of the November 19 violence that led to the secretariat’s initial closure.
“The command would not stand by and allow a breakdown of peace and order by the party or anyone else. Definitely, the police will have to be on the ground,” he said.
Another officer added, “There will definitely be men present at the secretariat, but I can’t say the number of police officers that would be deployed.”
When contacted, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, said she had not been briefed on the planned reopening and declined to comment on whether officers would be deployed.
Asked to confirm whether the secretariat was initially sealed by police, she responded, “Yes,” but refused to say more about the current deployment plans.
The Kano State House of Assembly has debunked the purported impeachment plan against the Deputy Governor, Aminu Gwarzo.
The Tide source recalls that the Kano State Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Ibrahim Waiya, recently sparked controversy during an interview session with a local radio station.
Mr Waiya called on the deputy governor to resign for failing to follow his principal, Gov. Abba Yusuf, in defecting from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, the spokesperson to the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Kamaluddeen Shawai, while addressing journalists in Kano on Saturday, described reports circulating in some media outlets about Mr Gwarzo’s impeachment as baseless and misleading, emphasising that no such plan is underway.
Mr Shawai further stated that the House remains focused on its legislative duties and oversight functions rather than engaging in speculative political manoeuvres.
The spokesperson urged members of the public and the media to verify information before sharing it, stressing the importance of accurate reporting in maintaining political stability in the state.
He said, “There is absolutely no motion or initiative within the House to remove the deputy governor.
“These reports are false and should be disregarded by the public. The deputy governor continues to serve in his capacity with full support from the House.
“Our priority is good governance and serving the people of Kano, not circulating rumours.”
She made the declaration during an interview with Nigerian football legend, Mr Segun Odegbami, during a live radio interview on Saturday.
Prof. Obasanjo, who is also former commissioner in the state, ruled out a return to the Senate, stating that her focus was firmly on the governorship race.
“So, moving ahead, I’m not going to be Commissioner. Like I said, I’m not even going back to the same party because I think that’s old and I don’t see the use of it. And I’m not going to go back to the Senate,” she said.
“Like the Americans would say, there’s no need. And this is what I told my associates, when this all started. I said, the only thing I’ll come back to do is the governorship.
“And we have started that journey. We are going to see it through. And so that’s the journey I’m on. And we are very serious about it. I mean we are very dedicated to it.”
The politician also confirmed that she recently joined the APC, explaining that her return to active politics followed persistent calls from supporters.
“Like I told you, a group of people who I did not bring together, have been working, I think, for two years now. And then they started talking to me about a year ago, saying, ‘Look, we think you are the best candidate. We want you back,’” she added.
Her declaration sets the stage for what may become a keenly contested governorship race in Ogun State ahead of the 2027 elections.
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