Restructuring: Crack in APC NWC as South-South chair backs agitation

MEMBERS of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) appear not to be on the same page over the agitation for the restructuring of the federation.

An indication emerged at the weekend as the national vice-chairman of the party, South-South zone, Hillary Eta declared that the agitation must be given urgent priority in order to save the party from what he called the embarrassing situation of being forced to the roundtable for a discussion.

Tribune Online checks revealed that Eta’s stance was at variance with the submission of the national chairman of the party, Chief Odigie Oyegun who believed that the poor state of the economy and provision of jobs for unemployed youth deserved the ruling party’s urgent priority for now.

Speaking last Thursday on a live television programme, Sun Rise Daily of Channels Television, the former Edo State governor declared that the focus of the present administration was how to revamp the distressed economy and provide jobs for unemployed youth in the country.

He said, “What is more important, to fix the economy or to embark on this political issue with all the contentious and different interpretations that the public give to it? It is very specific on the manifesto and we are not going to renege on it, no question about that.”

But speaking with journalists in Abuja, Eta admonished the government and the party to initiate the process to allow Nigerians ventilate their views on restructuring in a conducive atmosphere in order to avoid “unnecessary duty of having to force ourselves to the table.”

Unlike the party national chairman, Eta further noted that the distressed state of the economy and the political and social backwardness facing the country could be attributed to the awkward political structure, which he said was not sustainable.

“If you have restructuring in the manifesto of the party it is settled that the APC is for restructuring. Not only is the APC for restructuring, the governors elected on the platform of our party have come out to tell the nation that they are also for restructuring.

“I prefer that the restructuring that Nigeria must have, the process should start immediately. The reason is that our economic backwardness, our political backwardness, our social backwardness can be traced largely to the awkward and unsustainable super structure of the country and not the sub structure of the country.

“So, it is important that we restructure now so that we will not have the unnecessary duty of having to force ourselves to the table.”

The APC chieftain said all the documents that would help the National Assembly to kick start the process of enduring constitutional amendments should be made available to the federal lawmakers, “whether it is in 2014 or in 2010 conferences.

“I think it is a good place to start; all of these documents from the 2014 Conference, the one that was conducted by Babangida or Abacha wherever it was conducted, should be brought together.

“Nigeria has never been short of ideas. These ideas are found at the shores of government and that is a good place to start; and Nigerians who may not have had an opportunity to contribute to those that we have in the shores of government should also be given an opportunity to do so.”

While he pleaded with Nigerians to be patient with the present administration, he accused chieftains of the erstwhile ruling party, the People Democratic Party (PDP) of being in the vanguard of the agitation, as he noted that the party was in power for 16 years without giving restructuring of the country the needed priority.

“The PDP unfortunately, because whenever these things are done I think that they are just amplifying or reciting the propaganda of the PDP, but I beg to tell you that the PDP was in power for 16 years they never cared about restructuring. Today PDP is all over the place talking about restructuring.

“I don’t know if it is essentially about the APC, but some Nigerians are very quick into judgment in regards to APC. APC has been in power for two years and in the two years, you are aware of what has attended our presidency. It is disingenuous for people to now look at the APC and say those types of things that they say.”