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Clark, Adebanjo, Obiozor Flay Constitution Review, Insist on 2014 Confab Report
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 harmonisation 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 the leader and 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); Professor 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 does 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 elections.
SMBLF also resolved that the legislations of the National Assembly granting local governments autonomy are superfluous and exercise in futility, because local government affairs are state matters and 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 Nnamdi Kanu and a stop to any further persecution of 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 treatment 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 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 governments from being a tier of Government in the federation but only subject to the creation and administration of the states.
It emphasised 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.
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 regions.
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.
