Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta state, says restructuring
and a ban on open grazing will improve the unity of Nigeria.
He said southern governors should not be berated “for coming
together to speak for our people”.
Governors of the 17 southern states had on Tuesday met in
Asaba, Delta state capital, to discuss the state of the nation.
Following the meeting, the governors called on President
Muhammadu Buhari to be fairer in political appointments, convene a national
dialogue, embrace the calls for restructuring, and establishment of state
police.
Ahmad Lawan, president of the senate, had subsequently
faulted the governors’ call for restructuring, insisting they restructure their
respective states first.
Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi, had also called on the
governors to implement financial autonomy for the judiciary and legislature in
their states.
Reacting to the feedback on Saturday, Okowa said the
governors took a stance that will benefit the nation’s unity.
He added that their resolutions are answers to the demands
of the people.
“We thank all our brothers in the south for coming together
to speak for our people. The things that we’ve said are not new. It’s just the
voice of our people that we have continued to echo,” the governor said.
“But unfortunately I read in the papers that somebody says
we ought not to talk about certain things, being elected people. If the voice
of your people has been heard madly and they’ve continued to talk and you are
an elected person and you shy away from giving further voice to their voices,
then you ought not be in the position that you occupy.
“We reaffirmed that as a people, as elected Governors, we
believe in the unity of our country. But we also went forth to advance the need
for certain things to be done in order to give strength to that unity. That
cannot be a reason for us to be vilified, obviously not.
“We talked about restructuring, which has been on the table
for so long. Both the voices of the PDP and the APC itself have endorsed
restructuring. And restructuring is all-inclusive and all-encompassing. We may
have different views, different approaches to the restructuring, but when we
sit at the table in dialogue, we will be able to agree best on what is good for
Nigeria and what is good for the component parts of Nigeria.”
“The time is ripe for leaders and stakeholders from all
parts of the country to endorse the communique issued by the Southern Governors
as a road map for rebuilding a new Nigeria where all interest groups will be
treated equally.”
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