Former Governor of Abia, Dr Orji
Kalu, has declared his opposition to agitation for Biafra.
He, however, called for
restructuring as a panacea to solving the problems facing the country.
Kalu made the remark on Friday in
a paper he presented at a Public Lecture organised by the Department of Social
Sciences, University of Calabar.
In his paper, entitled:
‘Devolution of Powers and the Future of Nigeria’, Kalu insisted that the only
acceptable solution for Nigeria’s problems remained restructuring.
He said: “I believe fully in the
unity of Nigeria. I am against those who call for the division of the country.
There is no such provision as division in our Constitution.
“If you look at all political or
constitutional conferences we have had in this country since after
independence, you will find that devolution of powers featured prominently but
under different guise.
“Therefore, like the Igbo people
will say, where a child is crying and pointing at, if his father is not there,
his mother must surely be there.
“So, I think there is need for us
to fully review the call for devolution of powers within the context of our
current realities and as permissible by our constitution.
“Whether we call it resource
control, Sovereign National Conference, Restructuring or by any other name, we
are saying the same thing.
“That we want power to devolve so
that our states and local governments can have constitutional powers to do much
more than they are doing today.
“It is what the nation needs at
the moment, to move forward.
“The agitation for devolution of
power, restructuring or referendum, are all legitimate democratic demands.
“They form part of the
conversation that must take place to strengthen democracy and make it a real
system of government of the people, by the people and for the people”.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayAdvertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
One of the the most evil looters of Abia state.
ReplyDelete