New Telegraph

Southern governors right in calling for review of Nigeria’s federation –Adegboruwa, Ananaba

Calls for true federalism, restructuring of the country and convening of a sovereign national conference, made by Southern Nigerian Governors from the South West, South South and South East geopolitical zones under the auspices of Southern Nigerian Governors’ Forum (SNGF) at a meeting during the week in Asaba, Delta State, have been described as the right thing for the country to embark upon. Speaking as guests on Sunrise Daily, a breakfast programme of Channels Television yesterday, Mr. Ebun Adegboruwa (SAN) and Dr. Paul Ananaba (SAN), both stressed that the Federal Government should urgently address the issues raised by the governors at the meeting.

Adegboruwa, a notable human rights activist, recalled that prior to the 2015 general elections, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) brought a manifesto that talked about devolution of power, as well as the amendment of the Constitution. The amendment, he said was meant to ensure that the sub-nationals, the regions, and the people of Nigeria themselves will have a say in how they are being governed, and how their resources are being utilised. “But these have not happened since 2015 up till now.

So when the governors gathered and called for a sovereign national conference, they are reflecting the will of Nigerians. They are reflecting the desire of Nigerians. “There seems to be a lot of confusion in the land and there is need for a cohesive discussion that will give us a meaning of what Nigeria’s federation is all about now.

“If you look at what is going on in Nigeria now, insecurity, farmers cannot go to farm and you cannot even travel within your local entity, you will see that they have a point,” he said. The activist noted that the governors were not in charge because they don’t have control over security, they cannot harness the resources in their states for the benefit of their people, while stressing that they visit Abuja every month “to go and beg for money.” He added that it is appalling that in a federation even the universities that the state governments established and fund, it is the federal government that determines who can get admission into the universities. He said: “The governors are not in charge because they cannot even generate electricity for their own people even though they have the resources.

“The stage we are now is so critical that we should not be pretending that there is a federation called Nigeria. “We should determine the terms of that federation. We should dismantle the Constitution and get a new document that will define what should be the terms of our togetherness. I think that is what the governors meant by calling for a national conference.” Ananaba said in his comments that as elected officials of the entire South, the governors are inundated everyday with complaints of burning of police stations, shootings, killings, and kidnapping. He stated that the governors are close to the populace and that the issues they raised at the Asaba meeting should be urgently addressed by the Federal Government.

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