A
former governor of Anambra State, Okwadike Chukwuemeka Ezeife, has
said the FG to ensure that every necessary action for restructuring,
including referendum, should be concluded by mid-2018.
Ezeife,
who stated this in Abuja at the yearly public education organised by
the Save Democracy Group, said people that mean well for the country
should call on the Federal Government to put in place the mechanism for
restructuring Nigeria.
He
further said the government should ensure that every necessary action
for restructuring, including referendum, should be concluded by
mid-2018, adding: “People who wish Africa well and believe in one
Nigeria should work for the realisation of the above.”
He
congratulated the Save Democracy Group for holding the public education
event every year. “The effort is to save democracy in Nigeria. Some
people think that the urgent and present problem or need is to Save
Nigeria. The fear is that time may be running out.
“I
am happy that some who opposed restructuring, who had said their part
of Nigeria is ready for Nigeria’s disintegration, seem to be having a
re-think. We should indeed make haste to restructure this country.
What to do with the states
“We
do not have to re-invent the wheel, we need only note that states are
facts of our system. It may be convenient to use our existing six
geographical zones as the federating units. Indeed, the states in each
zone should work out a quasi-federal constitution, agreeable to all of
them. We should not dwell on this.
“Because
time is running out, we should call on the government to set up a body
to work out details of the structure of a new Nigeria, which should be
truly federal, with fiscal federalism, which implies resources control.
“The
only new element is that the zonal/regional government should deal
with zonal security, with only external security left to the Federal
Government.”
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