Further to his continuing
advocacy for the implementation of restructuring as a nation-building
opportunity, Malam Nasir El-Rufai has called for a collective national
endeavour to secure the necessary constitutional amendments.
In a statement on Tuesday,
Special Adviser to the Governor (Media & Communication) Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye
said restructuring will reduce over-dependence on the centre.
“Restructuring is a pragmatic
imperative for a more efficient governance structure in our country. It will
enable a departure from excessive centralisation, rebalance the federation and
locate powers and responsibilities in the tier of government best able to
effectively discharge them.
“There is a unique opportunity
for all Nigerians who believe in the merits of restructuring to work together
to realise it. As a fundamental redesign of the anchors of the Nigerian state,
restructuring can be achieved only by constitutional means and processes. This
means that the National Assembly is the primary platform for attaining it,
followed by the necessary concurrence by two-thirds of the state Houses of
Assembly in the country, and presidential assent.
“Every part of the country has
representation in the National Assembly. States and interest groups that wish
to advance restructuring can persuade any of their federal legislators to
present the draft bills in the Report of the APC True Federalism Committee, for
instance, or any other relevant draft legislation for consideration and passage
by the federal legislature. This is the productive direction to consider,
rather than revel in idle doubt and pessimism when the national interest is
calling for active engagement.
“There is no extra-constitutional
route to resolving a constitutional matter on which there exists reasonable
consensus and for which draft bills have been prepared. As a body of Nigerians
elected from constituencies across the country, the National Assembly is the
veritable constitutional conference. Therefore, it is not helpful to seek to
traduce its legitimacy, especially by persons who do not have any electoral
mandate.
“Pragmatism advises cooperation
in attaining this collective endeavour. However, recent comments from some
regional groupings make it difficult to escape the suspicion that certain
persons regard the realisation of restructuring as a moment of peril. They
appear to fear that the possibility of restructuring being actualised may erode
their political viability or remove a platform for grandstanding. We assure
them that they can always find new causes to pursue, post-restructuring, like
working with others to ensure that the newly devolved governance structures
work efficiently across the federation to deliver better outcomes for all our
people.”
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