- Southwest expects comprehensive rejig of polity
- President visits Afenifere leader
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday said his administration would lay a solid foundation before restructuring the country to foster proper federalism.
Shedding light on conditions for an overhaul, he explained that a proper foundation would involve carrying out successful economic and fiscal reforms capable of supporting a restructured country.
The president, who said his administration would not rush the process, stressed that restructuring should address the concerns for equity and justice.
The President and the governors have already agreed on the setting up of state police and the modalities are to be worked out soon by the federal and state governments.
However, the President emphasised that if a proper foundation to support restructuring is not laid, it will collapse.
President Tinubu spoke yesterday during his visit to Akure, the Ondo State capital.
He also visited Owo to commiserate with the family of the late former Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and the Olowo of Owo Oba Gbadegesin Ogunoye.
In Akure, he visited the leader of the Yoruba socio-cultural organisation Afenifere, Chief Reuben Fasoranti.
During his visit to the nonagenarian, the President, accompanied by former All Progressives Congress (APC) Interim National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande, also assured that his economic and political reforms will reposition the country.
He showed the Afenifere leader his Certificate of Return given to him by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after winning the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
Pa Fasoranti’s address read by Oba Olu Falae, Olu of Ilu Aabo, Akure, hailed President Tinubu’s courage and sagacity, which made him implement the Oronsanye Report as the basis for reforming the Public Service.
He reminded him that he was the first Afenifere member to be elected President.
Fasoranti noted that the president’s performance reflected his understanding of the gravity of his mandate, “which is to show the Nigerian people that a good government is possible.”
He urged him to tackle the challenge of constitutional reforms with courage, fairness and determination.
The elder statesman and one-time Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) said the country should seek a future where regional competitions would herald a healthy rivalry, reminiscent of the First Republic.
Hailing the President on his decision on state police, he also suggested some innovative ideas that will assist the Federal Government in carrying out its reforms across the critical sectors.
Fasoranti said: “We seek, therefore, a true Federal Republic that would reflect fiscal federalism.
“If the derivation principle is good for oil, why is it not good for Value Added Tax for example?
“We believe a review of the 2014 National Constitutional Conference would help you in charting the course.
“For the people of the Southwest, restructuring also has a more pressing meaning.
“Today, Nigeria has a population of 200 million which would double in the next 25 years to 400 million.
“However, the Southwest is facing an avalanche of migration from the other zones of the country to the extent that in 25 years, if the current trend continues, the Southwest would be home to 50 per cent of the population of Nigeria.
“By this time, the states of Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo would be home to, at least, 200 million people. We need to plan for this eventuality on a regional scale.
“We need to be prepared so that our region will not be overwhelmed by imported challenges.”
He added: “Mr President, please, also seek institutional reforms that would strengthen our federation and make Nigeria safer and more prosperous.
“Try and balance the budget and execute capital projects that would create more employment. We thank you for welcoming the idea of state policing.
“We want each of the geo-political zones to have greater responsibilities for security, food production and infrastructural development.
“Since the removal of fuel subsidy, which was costing Nigeria 10 billion dollars yearly, the state governments have been receiving hefty allocations from the Federation account.
“Mr President should persuade the governors to allow this change of fortune for the states to reflect at the grassroots so that life can be better for our people. They should not just buy rice and yams for the people.
“They should create employment, improve education and build new infrastructure. Today, life is truly challenging for most people and the state governments have an important role to play in transforming society.
“You have done well with trying to reposition our economy and reform the public service.
“We salute your courage in tackling many issues that have remained unresolved for many years.”
President Tinubu told the Afenifere leaders that he knew the challenges when he took the oath as President.
He said: “I prayed for it, I danced for it, I campaigned for it and I got it. I know the enormous responsibility. So, don’t pity me. Baba, just sit down and relax.”
President Tinubu said he had started building structures that could not be reversed, assuring that these economic, social and political structures would restore national glory.
The President said the country would soon pay off the loans it borrowed to free it from foreign debt.
President Tinubu, who acknowledged the pains Nigerians are going through due to oil subsidy removal, said Nigeria will overcome the challenges, stressing that his policies will bring effective solutions.
Mrs Akeredolu thanks the president
Speaking with reporters, Mrs Akeredolu thanked the President for the visit, during which he held a meeting with the former First Lady.
She said: “On behalf of my family, I appreciate Mr. President. We understood he couldn’t attend the burial ceremony due to the dictate of Yoruba culture. He couldn’t have attended the burial of his younger brother.
“Coming today is a big deal because we are in a better atmosphere.
“I also express my profound gratitude to the Southern Governors for their immense financial contributions to the burial, most especially, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who singlehandedly brought Aketi’s remains back to Nigeria.
“We appreciate this huge show of love and we are grateful and forever indebted to him.
“I requested that Mr. President see where Aketi has been laid to rest and he followed me. We are deeply grateful to Mr. President for coming. He’s indeed, Aketi’s brother and friend.
“I told Mr. President, yes, Aketi has left, but he lives because he left behind legacies.
“It is our wish that those legacies continue and are built upon where necessary.”
Visit turns campaign carnival
There was drama as Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and other governorship aspirants clashed over a directive by the state government that the president’s visit was not political.
In a statement, the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, clarified that the visit was not a political or party affair.
Adeniyan said: “Only government officials and those accredited by the government will have the opportunity to receive the president at the airport, not a campaign crowd.”
However, the visit became a campaign carnival of sorts as supporters of the governor lined up major streets leading to the airport to cheer him.
Adeniyan’s clarification followed the complaint by an aspirant, Wale Akinterinwa, that the directive by Aiyedatiwa was meant to prevent members and leaders of Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) who are not in his camp from welcoming the president at the airport.
A statement by the spokesman of Wale Akinterinwa Campaign Structure, Segun Ajiboye, described the directive as most undemocratic, disrespectful, unreasonable and a disdainful ‘attempt by any chief executive in the annals of democracy in Nigeria.’
It reads: “The directive that no supporter or aspirant should come to the airport to welcome Mr President, who is on a private visit and not on a state visit, is a directive from ignorant minds in Alagbaka.
“It is a tradition that whenever the President visits any state, members of his party offer him their love and support by welcoming him in their droves. It does not matter whether it is election year or not.
“We reject the directive that neither our leader, Wale Akinterinwa, nor his supporters should come near the airport to welcome Mr. President.
“We further reject the assertion that the governor is in charge of the President’s safety in Ondo State during this visit.
“It must also be put on record that the airport is under federal law superintendent by FAAN.
“So, Mr Governor cannot give any order or lay claim to any powers he does not possess.”
