President Muhammadu Buhari, on Saturday, advocated the
restructuring of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) amid
his seeming objection to similar clamour by Nigerians.
He urged the regional body to streamline its management in a
way that would conform with current realities.
Buhari’s demand was contained in his presentation to the
virtual 58th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government
of ECOWAS.
The Nigerian leader argued there was a need for a lean and
compact leadership in ECOWAS to enhance its efficiency and performance.
Buhari said the restructuring would eliminate overlap and
the tussle between the large statutory appointees, as well as reduce personnel
and overhead costs that could be channeled to projects.
”The African Union, our larger continental organization of
55 members, has pruned down its commissioners to only six. Hence, there’s no
basis whatsoever, for ECOWAS, with only 15 members, to maintain 13
commissioners and 10 other statutory appointees,” he stated.
Nigeria’s suggestion, according to him, was the immediate
appointment of a ministerial ad hoc committee to review the proposal of the
Maxwells Temp Report and submit a recommendation at the mid-year summit.
The President noted that if some countries oppose his
opinion, each member state must sponsor its own statutory appointee like what
obtains in other organizations such as the European Union and others.
Buhari’s comments came on the same
day the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dared leaders of the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC) to make pronouncements on Buhari’s “decision to go
back on the campaign promise of restructuring”.
It mentioned Caretaker Chairman, Governor Mai Mala Buni;
National Leader, Bola Tinubu; Governors Nasir el-Rufai and Kayode Fayemi;
Ministers Rotimi Amaechi and Lai Mohammed.
The PDP threw up the challenge after the remark by Senate
spokesperson, Senator Ajibola Basiru, that restructuring as promised by the APC
was only a “slogan”.
The opposition stressed that APC’s inaction on restructuring
and declaration by the Buhari presidency that Nigerians should channel their
demands to the National Assembly validates the belief that the party only
wanted power in 2015.
PDP said it was aware of “plots by certain APC leaders to
condemn President Buhari as being singularly responsible for the failures of
his administration and use such a narrative to beguile Nigerians again with
another round of fake promises on restructuring.”
Last year, Buhari, through his spokesman Garba Shehu, vowed
not to succumb to “threats and pressure” over the issue.
The reaction was sequel to the call for restructuring by
Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God
(RCCG).
The revered Christian leader said returning Nigeria to the
regional system of government would forestall the possibility of a split.
The presidency damned the “recurring threats to the
corporate existence of the country with factions giving specific timelines for
the President to do one thing or another or else, in their language “the nation
will break up.”
Shehu said “unpatriotic outbursts are unhelpful and
unwarranted”, and declared that the Buhari administration “will not succumb to
threats and take any decision out of pressure”
Many Nigerians and organisations, including the Southern and
Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum (SMBLF) have also condemned the position of the
presidency..
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