By The Pathfinder
Thursday March 7, 2024
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Afenifere, last Tuesday, advised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to jettison the call for the restructuring of the country, having been in the vanguard of the struggle during his administration.
The Pan-Yoruba socio-political group also said that the blueprint for restructuring the country is ready.
The Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Mogaji Gboyega Adejumo, disclosed this while briefing newsmen shortly after the caucus meeting of the group, held at the Isanya Ogbo Ijebu residence of its leader, Pa Ayo Adebanjo.
Afenifere posited the idea of restructuring the country geared towards the adoption of the parliamentary system of government.
He noted that such would help in cutting down huge amounts of money being spent on the electioneering campaign and more importantly, the heavy cost of governance under the federal system of government.
“What we have here today is the caucus meeting of Afenifere and the germane national issue that took center stage was restructuring.
“Sometime last year, in November, a committee under the leadership of Oba Oladipo Olaitan was set up to aggregate Afenifere’s view on restructuring, and today, the committee said that the report is ready.
“However, this report will still be considered by the executives of the group, after which it will be taken to the general assembly where all the members will get to know what we stand on restructuring as Afenifere, and we shall then print the report, do our various publicity on it for people to be enlightened on what we believe on restructuring.
“Tinubu, himself, is a product of Afenifere. He was elected on the platform and ideology of Afenifere. He took the federal government to court under the leadership of former President Obasanjo 31 times to implement restructuring.
“He didn’t do anything when former President Buhari was there for eight years, probably he was bidding his time because he knew that northerners wouldn’t implement restructuring because they thought it wouldn’t favor them.
“But Tinubu is there now as the President, he is answerable to us all as a product of Afenifere and as what the whole Yoruba did under the Afenifere in Adamasingba, Ibadan, Oyo State in 2017 that what we want is nothing but restructuring.
“For this 2017 meeting, we invited the South-South, South East, and the Middle Belt and this is the beginning of what we called the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum.
“So we are still meeting at this forum when other zones will also submit their recommendations, so what we took to 2014 Confab is what we are submitting even though some things have changed. We will then take it before the National Assembly for their approval.
He hinted that Afenifere is proposing a parliamentary system of government in the greater interest of Nigeria.
The Publicity Secretary added, “What we are proposing is the parliamentary system of government. Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo didn’t have to campaign in Ijebu Igbo, all he had to do was to win in Ikenne to become a member of the House and whoever the leader of the party became the Prime Minister or the Premier.
“The old Western Region was from Badagry in Lagos to Asaba in present-day Delta State, but he never had to be campaigning everywhere as we do now. It makes governance so cheap, that nobody will have to spend billions on campaigns again. You will need as much as N100m to campaign for local government chairmanship elections.
“So, until under this system, you will from your constituency come into the House of Assembly, and from here you will choose your Ministers and your Commissioners, you are not going to be appointed anyone again from outside but those that have been elected into the House of Assembly.
“With this system of government, we are going to be spending one-tenth of the humongous resources we are using to run this presidential system of government”.
In attendance at the meeting presided over by Pa Adebanjo were the Deputy Leader, Oba Oladipo Olaitan; Chief Supo Sonibare; former deputy governor of Lagos State, Chief Mrs Kofoworola Bucknor Akerele; Prince Justice Faloye; Chief Segun Ojo and Bashorun Segun Sanni.
– Tribune
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