The Director-General of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), Mr Salihu Lukman, has called on opposition political parties to take proactive steps to ensure restructuring in Nigeria rather than being rhetorical and partisan about the issue.
Mr Lukman advised the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to follow the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, to engage the leadership of the National Assembly to speed up the process of constitutional amendments.
He said this in reaction to the release of a communique on resolutions at a meeting held by the PDP Governors in Ibadan, Oyo state where the governors supported the idea of more devolution of powers.
Mr Lukman said that there was nothing new in the resolutions by the PDP Governors but that the issue of devolution of power and restructuring is beyond rhetoric and politics but is an issue of national imperative.
Mr Lukman pointed out that opposition political parties have been reluctant to openly take a definite stand on the issue.
“Already, Progressive Governors, in line with recommendations contained in the APC Committee on True Federalism, has taken a position on this matter and have since communicated it to the leadership of the National Assembly.
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“Therefore, instead of playing politics on a matter that is beyond media campaign, PDP Governors should follow the footsteps of Progressive Governors by engaging the leadership of the National Assembly to speed up processes of Constitutional amendment.
“The major outstanding political issue at this point is the inability of opposition parties in the country, including the PDP, to categorically declare their position, especially in terms of issues of implementation.
“Having mismanaged opportunities to initiate all the recommendations being proposed by the PDP Governors between 1999 and 2015, how can anybody in PDP claim any moral standing to demand for any executive bill? If the issue is as simple as getting the President to transmit an executive bill, what stops all the PDP Presidents from initiating it for sixteen years?
“At this point, it is important to appeal to PDP Governors to again follow the footsteps of Progressive Governors by working to reform the PDP. If PDP Governors want Nigerians to take them seriously it must be based on a very honest disposition of acknowledging challenges faced by all our political parties.
“Nigerians want to be able to have choices in terms of what political parties represent beyond the claims of politicians. As things are, PDP is a dissolute representation of an alternative for Nigerians,” Lukman said.
He added that the APC government has made progress in ensuring devolution of power from federal to state government and that APC legislators are also sponsoring bills to this end.
Zainab Sa’id
