SMBLF Leaders Flay Constitution Review, Demand Implementation of 2014 Confab Report

* Fault LG autonomy, insist on state police

* Call for release of Kanu, Igboho

Deji Elumoye and Udora Orizu in Abuja

The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum (SMBLF) has described the existing constitution and structure of Nigeria as grossly flawed, demanding the harmonization and immediate implementation of the reports of the 2014 National Conference and the 2018 APC Committee on True Federalism.
The Forum made this known in a communiqué issued at the end of its meeting in Abuja under the chairmanship of elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark.

The constituent organisations of the SMBLF were respectively led to the meeting by Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Leader of Afenifere (South-west); Dr. Pogu Bitrus, President of the Middle Belt Forum (Middle Belt); Prof. George Obiozor, President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo represented by the Secretary-General, Ambassador Okey Emuchay (South-east); and Senator Emmanuel Ibok Essien, National Chairman of Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF (South-south).
At the meeting, the Forum said the 2014 confab report is better than the current ‘cosmetic’ Constitutional Amendment, which is a drain on the resources of the country and do not address fundamental issues including fiscal federalism.

It, therefore, insisted on the fundamental restructuring of the country, to reflect true federalism and enthrone equity, fairness and justice before the 2023 general election.

SMBLF also resolved that the legislations of the National Assembly granting local government autonomy is superfluous and an exercise in futility, because local government affairs are state matters, adding that the listing of local governments in the constitution is inconsistent with the principle of federalism.

The Forum insisted that state police is a sine qua non in a federal system of government; noting that there is no government, properly so-called, that is without the instrument and capacity to enforce its laws and maintain security within its territorial jurisdiction.

SMBLF therefore urged every state to have its own police to complement the federal police.

It demanded in national interest, the immediate release of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, and a stop to any further persecution of Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Igboho, who is currently on a conditional release in Benin Republic.

The Forum warned that the continued detention and trial of Kanu on charges of terrorism and treasonable felony, while known Boko Haram terrorists are being given VIP treatments and hosted in government houses is not only provocative and perfidious, but a bizarre double standard on the part of the Nigerian State.

The group said: “Further notes that the reports of both the 2014 National Conference and the Governor Nasir El-Rufai – APC Committee on True Federalism of 2018 recommended that the Federation of Nigeria should remain as constituted by the federal government and the states, and specifically excluded local government from being a tier of government in the federation but only subject to the creation and administration of the states. 
“Emphasizes that the designation of governor of a state as the chief security officer of the state is a ruse without being in control of the state’s security apparatus.”

The Forum further reiterated its resolve that political parties in the country should zone their presidential tickets to the south.

It called on all lovers of peace and equity in Nigeria, particularly people of Southern Nigeria and Middle Belt region to reject any political party that fails to zone its presidential ticket to the South.

On the worsening state of insecurity in the country, the Forum, particularly, decried the continued kidnappings and killings of innocent citizens and wanton destruction of livelihoods across the country by terrorists and criminals, especially in the North-west, North-east and Middle Belt region.

It condemned in the strongest terms, the ongoing massacres and decimation of indigenous populations, especially in Zuru, Kebbi State, Southern Kaduna, Benue, Plateau and Southern Gombe, where an untold number of citizens have been killed and communities deliberately displaced,  by Islamic extremists and foreign Fulani herders.

The group urged the federal government to be alive to its primary duty of protecting the lives and property of citizens; safeguard all communities across Nigeria, and ensure the immediate return of displaced citizens to their ancestral homes.

SMBLF, however, reaffirmed its commitment to the unity of Nigeria, situated on the tenets of equity, fairness, justice, and the principle of federalism.