The Kaduna state governor Malam Nasir el-Rufai has stated that there is a unique opportunity for all Nigerians who believe in the merits of restructuring to work together to realize it. This is according to a statement signed by Muyiwa Adekeye, his Special Adviser on Media and Communication released Tuesday, December 1, 2020.
In a letter titled ‘Restructuring is a national endeavour, let’s realise it together’, the governor calls for a collective national endeavour to secure the necessary constitutional amendments as regard to restructuring. The statement reads: Restructuring is a national endeavour, let’s realize it together.
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Further to his continuing advocacy for the implementation of restructuring as a nation-building opportunity, Malam Nasir El Rufai has called for collective national endeavour to secure the necessary constitutional amendments,
‘Restructuring is a pragmatic imperative for a more efficient governance structure in our country. It enables a departure from excessive centralization, rebalances the federation and locates 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 realize it. As fundamental redesign of 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 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 endeavor. However, recent comments from some regional groupings, makes it difficult to escape the suspicion that certain persons regard the realization of restructuring as a moment of peril. They appear to fear that the possibility of restructuring being actualized 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 newly devolved governance structures work efficiently across the federation to deliver better outcomes for all our people.’
Signed
Muyiwa Adekeye
Special Adviser to the Governor (Media and Communication)
December 1, 2020
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
