All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun said yesterday that the party refused to attend the 2014 National Conference called by former President Goodluck Jonathan as a matter of principle because the conference was politically motivated.
Oyegun said the party was not in any way against any idea aimed at taking a fresh look at the basis of the country’s existence.
He added that the believe of the party was that while there are things that need to be tinkered with, this must be done without sacrificing or jeopardising the fundamental unity of Nigeria.
Oyegun, who spoke while inaugurating the APC Committee on Restructuring and Fiscal Federalism yesterday evening, said the time has come for the party to take charge of the debate on restructuring.
He lamented that the debate was unfortunately being used by opponents of the party to define what restructuring means to them.
Oyegun emphasis that the task of the committee was both critical and very sensitive, especially in the light of the clamour for restructuring , devolution of power, fiscal federalism, resource control and all other names that describe the various forms of reforms that were being suggested for Nigeria’s reform.
He said: “If any group can claim ownership to the principle and the need for true federalism, that group is the APC. From our constituent units, that was one of the principal points and when we sat down to negotiate this great union called the APC, it was one of the principal issues that was almost like a no go item.
“We negotiated and agreed and as a result, the constitution of the party, the manifesto of the party were very elaborate in their references to true federalism and devolution of power.
“It is, therefore, totally inconceivable for uninformed members of the public to jumped on this bandwagon of reconstituting the federation to give the impression that the party was in any way against the principle of taking a fresh look at the basis of our federalism.
Kaduna state Governor and chairman of the committee Nasir El Rufai said the issue of restructuring and fiscal federalism form part of the manifesto and campaign commitment to ensure that Nigeria enjoys a balanced Federation.
He said the committee has already met three times and identified 12 key issues that need to be discussed by Nigerians to have a clear direction, roadmap and steps to be taken to clarify and articulate the position of the APC on the subject of true federalism, restructuring, devolution of power among others.