David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka
Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, has blamed the recent calls for restructuring and agitations for secession on the arbitrariness of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Abaribe stated this yesterday in Awka, Anambra State, while addressing lawyers during the second day of the 25th Law Week of the Awka branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
The lawmaker who spoke on the topic: ‘Executive Lawlessness in Nigeria’s Pseudo-federalist Geo-polity: Shouldn’t Nigeria Restructure Her Structure’, said there were several cases of executive lawlessness on the part of the federal government.
He said: “There are a litany of executive arbitrariness by the APC-led government of the Buhari’s presidency that has led to thunderous clamour for restructuring.
“Before now, Nigerians have argued stridently over discrimination, but the recent upsurge in perceived impunity and bias in federal appointments by the Buhari presidency has sparked concern of a very dangerous slide to a sectional strife.
“The nation seems to be on a meltdown. In the wake of the unprecedented ravaging insecurity spreading all over the country, many of the things that hold us together as a nation continue to unravel, and the APC-led government seems powerless to stop the slide.
“It is very unfortunate that the present government and the inherent lawlessness have given impetus to the quagmire leading Nigerians to question the system as presently constituted. The country is in limbo.
There is an obvious feeling of despondency; my fear is that it should not slide to a total state of anomie. There is agitation for restructuring and extreme demand for secession, and all are fueled by injustice and feeling of being left out, particularly the south East,” Abaribe lamented.
Speaking further on whether the country should restructure, the lawmaker said: “We accept that it is necessary to tinker with the structure of our country. We must agree that the immediate cause of our woes is injustice and inability to manage our diversity by the present government.”
He stated that those who question the reason for restructuring do not mean well for Nigeria, adding that the country cannot afford to be limping as it is doing today, which is leading it to the precipice. “Something must be done constitutionally, and that is to amend the constitution to resolve the issues of today.
“We have to instill confidence in the polity by reflecting such things as State Police, Devolution of powers, fiscal federalism in the amendments. Essentially, it means to amend part 1 and 11 to move certain items from exclusive to the concurrent list to give more legislative powers to states,” he said.
The chairman of Awka branch of NBA, Mr. Ekene Okonkwo who spoke earlier said the law week was put together as the contribution of the branch to offering solutions to the current agitations in the country.
The event started on Thursday and continues on Saturday with awards to distinguished personalities and a thanksgiving mass on Sunday.
