L
LequteMan
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No group, persons or group of persons can blackmail President Muhammadu Buhari to restructure Nigeria, Northern socio-cultural group, Afenifere has stated.
In a communique issued on Friday after a meeting, the group said the aggrieved bodies should show their agitations through their representatives in the National Assembly.
“On the issue of the long running debate as to whether or not to restructure the Federation of Nigeria, ACF observed with regret that most of those discussions are taking place without regard to decorum or civility, as the issues are often presented as “demands” by one group or the other.
“Unfortunately, in most cases, they are followed up by some ultimatum to the authorities to accept or face deadly consequences. Some groups refer to restructuring to mean “true” federalism, others call it “resource control”.
“However, restructuring a complex, big and diverse country as Nigeria is a serious business that must take account of the views of all its citizens, and not just of those that shout the loudest or issue threats, intimidation or blackmail.
“Moreover, our present democratic structure provides ample opportunity for groups and individuals to present their agitations through their representatives in the National and States Assemblies.
“Nigeria now faces more serious security challenges, social and economic problems like the destruction of our oil pipelines by the Niger Delta Militants, Boko Haram insurgency, youth restiveness, drastic drop in oil revenue, unnecessary killings and kidnapping of innocent persons etc that require all hands to be on deck, rather than diverting the attention and resources of government on an issue that could be tackled by our present democratic structure.
“ACF therefore, considers such agitations at this material time as diversionary and a misplaced priority,” ACF said.
Today.ng
In a communique issued on Friday after a meeting, the group said the aggrieved bodies should show their agitations through their representatives in the National Assembly.
“On the issue of the long running debate as to whether or not to restructure the Federation of Nigeria, ACF observed with regret that most of those discussions are taking place without regard to decorum or civility, as the issues are often presented as “demands” by one group or the other.
“Unfortunately, in most cases, they are followed up by some ultimatum to the authorities to accept or face deadly consequences. Some groups refer to restructuring to mean “true” federalism, others call it “resource control”.
“However, restructuring a complex, big and diverse country as Nigeria is a serious business that must take account of the views of all its citizens, and not just of those that shout the loudest or issue threats, intimidation or blackmail.
“Moreover, our present democratic structure provides ample opportunity for groups and individuals to present their agitations through their representatives in the National and States Assemblies.
“Nigeria now faces more serious security challenges, social and economic problems like the destruction of our oil pipelines by the Niger Delta Militants, Boko Haram insurgency, youth restiveness, drastic drop in oil revenue, unnecessary killings and kidnapping of innocent persons etc that require all hands to be on deck, rather than diverting the attention and resources of government on an issue that could be tackled by our present democratic structure.
“ACF therefore, considers such agitations at this material time as diversionary and a misplaced priority,” ACF said.
Today.ng
