In what seems to be a soft
attack on the People Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate,
Atiku Abubakar, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has challenged those advocating
for restructuring of the country to seek legal solution.
Speaking on Thursday,
January 17, at an event marked for the celebration of 80th birthday of a former
Osun state governor, Chief Bisi Akande, themed, ‘Nigeria: Achieving National
Unity Through Peaceful Restructuring,' Osinbajo attacked Atiku and PDP for
opposing the restructuring call when Bola Ahmed Tinubu called for it in 1999,
The Punch reports.
Legit.ng gathers that the
vice president, who noted that he was part of Tinubu's Lagos government in
1999, described the recent call as hypocrisy approach by those he called
purloiners.
He said: “The government of
Lagos state demonstrated that it is possible to have restructuring and
devolution of power by process of litigation. As of 1999 when I first had
encounter with the former governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, he made
it clear to me that one of his objectives for us is to pursue fiscal federalism
and devolution of power for our state.
"We spent a lot of
time and resources to look into how we could do it. We know that going through
the National Assembly is just a waste of time. We then decided to use process
of litigation. As a matter of fact, we went to the Supreme Court on 12
different times on what we can describe as restructuring.The federal government
at that time opposed every move we made.
“Today our dear presidential
candidate of the PDP says he is an expert on restructuring, but in those years
when we were fighting for restructuring, he opposed every step we took.
“Fortunately for us, we
were able to record successes. The achievements are gains of litigation. We can
only get it through the court. As a region, if we are talking about
restructuring, we should look at it from the point of view of the court.”
Also speaking on the
restructuring debate, the governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai,
corroborated the vice president's position, adding that the option mapped out
by All Progressives Congress (APC) remained the best for the country.
He said: "APC
committee on true federalism submitted its report last year. The committee
recommended that the federation be re-balanced with more powers and
responsibilities devolved to the states.
"The committee also
clarified that the federation is a relationship solely between the states and
the federal government, and that each state should be allowed to operate the
system of local government that best suits it.
“Successful restructuring
depends also on our national resolve to protect the idea of a common
citizenship. The rights guaranteed under the constitution should be enjoyed by
every citizen, no matter where they reside, and no matter which part of the
country they hail from.
"A restructuring of
mentality and values is a key factor in the success of restructuring of the
governance and political structure.”
Apart from Osinbajo and
Governor El-Rufai, other top personalities at the event were the national
leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Governor Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo); Ibikunle
Amosun (Ogun); Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo); Gboyega Oyetola
(Osun); deputy governor of Lagos state, Idiat Adebule; and Senator Biyi
Durojaye, among others.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng
previously reported that President Muhammadu Buhari had given condition for the
restructuring of the country saying it must be well defined before it can be
done for the interest of all Nigerians.
The president made this
comment during an interactive session with Nigerians living in France on
Monday, November 12.
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