By Eric Elezuo

Frontline presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has not hid his preference for devolution of powers and restructuring of the administrative systems of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as he has consistently clamoured for the two apparatuses of governance in his campaign. He has pledged his unequivocal and total commitment to power devolution and restructuring if elected the president in February.

The former vice president, who headed the economic council of the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo administration, has highlighted in various fora, including in his campaigns across the federation that a structured Nigeria with power devolved to component units is the best option for equitable development and the much sought after security.

Atiku, who is referred to as the candidate to beat in the forthcoming 2023 election made clear while addressing a mammoth crowd of PDP supporters at various gatherings of party faithful and supporters including at Pa Ngele Oruta Township Stadium Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.

While noting that the people of the South-East zone, had been clamouring for restructuring to enable them have more powers to deal with their local affairs, the presidential hopeful assured the people that restructuring and devolution of power would be a major policy of his administration even as the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was described as a deceitful alliance and not a political party.

He said he was determined to succeed where they APC government had failed woefully, noting that the party promised to restructure the Nigeria but failed to do so.

Highlighting the reason he was committed to devolution and restructuring, Atiku said: “I am committed to power devolution and restructuring. All the South Eastern states have been yearning and have been propagating for restructuring of this country because they want to have more powers, more resources to deal with their own local affairs. We agree entirely and that is why it is a major policy of our government, if you support us and if you give us the opportunity.

“APC had promised the same. Did they do it? They abandoned the issue of restructuring, they are very deceitful alliance, very deceitful. We are committed and we mean what we say and if you give us the support, we will deliver. They said some people formed a party, it is not a party. It is an alliance and the alliance is collapsing and it has collapsed”.

He promised to empower women and youths to take over power from old politicians if given the mandate to be president of the country.

Also speaking at another location. the PDP candidate, who is the Wazirin Adamawa, promised the Niger Delta people that his administration will devolve powers from the centre and restructure Nigeria if elected.

Atiku, who spoke at the campaign rally of the PDP in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, noted that the people of the region had been clamouring for resource control and the restructuring of the country and that his government, when elected, would accede to their demands.

He reiterated the implementation of his five-point developmental agenda for the nation, which he listed as the unification of the country, tackling insecurity, the economy, ending the strike in universities, and restructuring.

He said, “I promised to tackle insecurity. Here in Bayelsa State, you have faced a number of security challenges. You have lost so many people due to breaches of law and order. I promise I will restore security in this country.

“We proposed to restructure this country. You people in the Niger Delta need more restructuring than any other part of this country. We will give you more resources and more powers to deal with your problems. You don’t have to always start begging the Federal Government.”

In his remarks, the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, said Atiku was the only presidential candidate who had pledged to give the Ijaw people, and indeed the Niger Delta, restructuring.

Diri said partly, “Now, the only candidate who has keyed in and who has talked about what the Ijaw people want and what the people of Bayelsa want is Atiku; we have been talking about: resource control, Atiku is the only candidate that has talked about the restructuring of this country. Therefore, Atiku and the PDP are the only candidates and parties for which the Ijaw people will vote.”

Also speaking, the vice presidential candidate of the PDP and governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, called on the people of Bayelsa State to give the party no fewer than 700,000 votes, while the geopolitical zone should deliver at least five million votes for the PDP at the presidential polls.

Atiku believe that with the devolution of powers to component units, every government will localise their administration, and the crisis of bottleneck in policy decision would be a thing of the past. He assured that gone will be days when governors will have to run to Abuja for matters that could easily be handled from the homefront.

“With devolution and restructuring, governance will be simpler, and component units will undertake more and higher levels of administration from their various localities, thereby giving the central enough space to tackle national issues relating to foreign relations among others,” he said.

Atiku sees a PDP government come May 2023 as the answer to the clamour of Nigerians from all strata for good administration and end to skirmishes of uncertainty occasioned by insecurity, economic meltdown among other negatives that have characterised the APC government in the last eight years.