Following comments credited to the All Progressives Congress (APC), which referred to most proponents of the restructuring agenda as ‘latter-day converts’ former Senate President, Senator David Mark, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and the Pan-Yoruba Cultural group, Afenifere, has reacted, lambasting the ruling party as being out of touch with reality.
Responding, Mark, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the PDP, insisted that restructuring of the country “is an idea whose time has come.”
Mark, in a statement issued by his Media Assistant, Paul Mumeh, in Abuja on Sunday, noted that contrary to the notion that he was capitalising on the populist agenda, he had listened and galvanised the views of various ethnic nationalities in Nigeria and submitted that the time for restructuring was now.
He said, “It is understandable that the APC would accuse me of being a new convert to restructuring in view of their many failed promises to the Nigerian people. I will not make promises like them. My antecedents over the years, especially during my tenure as Senate President, are a testimony that I will always act in the nation’s best interest.
“My position is anchored on the feedback from Nigerians, and as a leader, in my own right, I have to act in consonance with the wishes of people. My experience in the last few years shows that a leader is only effective if he listens to the people. The issues of insecurity and the dwindling economic fortune of Nigeria makes it imperative that something has to be done by way of restructuring.
“Rarely has our country been faced with such a state of uncertainty, despair, suspicion and division. If restructuring is the answer, why not now?”
The former Senate President pointed out that as a pan-Nigerian, he believed in the sanctity of Nigeria’s unity. “Anything that will unite and prosper Nigeria would be my interest and concern. I believe restructuring is the way to go,” he stated.
The Yoruba social-cultural group, Afenifere, derided the statement by the APC, describing it as a whitewash of their turnabout on restructuring.
The group’s spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, stated that the ruling party was simply trying to hide its insincerity on the issue, noting that the ruling party had yet to release the report of its committee on restructuring months after the panel submitted its recommendations.
Odumakin said, “After they won the election, they ignored restructuring. In fact, the first thing the President said was that he had not read the report of the conference. Later, they said restructuring meant 200 things to 200 Nigerians and then they set up a restructuring committee headed by Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, who had earlier pooh-poohed the idea of restructuring. Till date, we have yet to see their report.
“Lately, they have been using Vice-President Osinbajo as an attack dog on restructuring. How can someone say restructuring does not involve geographical issue?
“Agriculture is a geographical issue; agric in Bayelsa is not the same in Oyo State. Does Osinbajo understand what we are talking about? I think the Vice-President has betrayed a large dose of ignorance on the issue of restructuring.”
On his part, Atiku said he would not exchange words with the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, which he said lacked life.
He said it would be wrong for the APC to talk about restructuring after deceiving Nigerians with such promises in 2015, which he said were not fulfilled up till now.
The former Vice-President, who spoke through the Director of Media of his campaign organisation, Mr Segun Sowumi, told one of our correspondents that APC could not pretend to be interested in restructuring.
He said, “We are in no mood to bandy words with a lifeless government that has nothing but lies and propaganda to offer. We are busy working on plans and programme to get Nigeria working again and restructuring is a key issue that must be given attention.
“Would the APC expect Nigerians to trust them having wasted the goodwill of the people, dashed their hope and made Nigerians the most miserably poor among the poor of the world.”
The Punch