Restructuring, govt of national unity my topmost priority -Atiku

THOMAS IMONIKHE

 

Getting necessary constitutional amendments to berth restructuring for the devolution of more powers and resources to states and local governments as well as the formation of a government of national unity will be given topmost priority by the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar if elected president in next year’s election.

 

Atiku who disclosed this during an interactive session with members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE in Lagos on Wednesday, said contrary to insinuation, his commitment to implementing the restructuring agenda remained intact from his first day in office.

 

According to the former Vice President, it was unfortunate that a section of the media chose to misinterpret his comments at a session with the Lagos Business School Alumni Association on Tuesday which casts doubts on his readiness to implement the restructuring agenda.

 

“Let me, therefore, use the opportunity of this gathering today with the gatekeepers of the Nigerian media to say that my restructuring agenda is intact and it will be implemented from my first day in office.

Already, I have received a report from a team of constitutional law experts which I assembled to look into our constitution and highlight areas where there are items that can be moved to the concurrent and residual lists of the constitution. Let me tell you that I will start work on the implementation of that report from my very first day in office if I am elected president next year,” Atiku stated.

 

The Presidential hopeful who had highlighted his five-point policy document on unity, security, economy, restructuring and education before answering questions from editors further hinted that devolution of powers from the federal government would come with the allocation of more resources to states and councils.

 

He said: “I want you to realize that amending the constitution requires the executive, the National Assembly, the State Assembly so tomorrow we have to agree on what kind of restructuring. When we say devolution of powers, obviously it must go hand in hand with a certain measure of resource control so it is just logical”.

 

Responding to a question, he said unlike President Muhammadu Buhari who appointed northerners as heads of the 17 security agencies in the country, his administration would ensure such appointees are drawn from the six geo-political zones as part of deliberate efforts to forge national unity.

 

According to him, such a step is not new stressing that the PDP adopted a similar approach in 1999 which allowed other parties to be represented at the federal level.

 

“I assure you that PDP will form a government of national unity to bring in the opposition into government. So this is one of the ways to unify this country. Today about 17 of the various heads of security agencies, all of them came from the North. I will make sure that every geo-political zone is represented by the security agencies. This will help unify the country and every part will have a sense of belonging”.

 

On how he intends to better secure the country, he said that will entail recruitment of more personnel into the Nigeria Police Force and the Armed Forces adding that after such recruitment about one million persons would have been taken out of the labour market.

 

Atiku further reiterated his commitment to closely partner with the organised private sector towards ensuring that the gaps in infrastructure deficits are closed.

 

“The private sector is pivotal to my agenda to rejuvenate the economy and close our infrastructure deficit gaps. If I am elected president, I will work closely with the private sector by giving them incentives to create more jobs and also grant them tax holidays for them to intervene in our infrastructure development.

 

“It is obvious to all that government doesn’t have all the money and the debt burden has continued to weigh us down. Therefore, the government has to be creative, and engaging the private sector is one way of solving our infrastructure problems in a sustainable way,” he stated.

 

Earlier, the NGE President Mr. Mustapha Isah in his speech disclosed that Nigerians were eager to hear Atiku’s plans to tackle insecurity, the poor economy, youth unemployment, hunger, irregular power supply, and the general despondence pervading the country, adding that though editors won’t take side with political parties and their candidates but are permitted to take side with the people who simply want solutions to the numerous challenges facing them daily while we “must get it right in 2023 to guarantee our survival as a country”.

 

He said the forum is designed to provide the candidates an opportunity to address editors about their policies and programmes ahead of next year’s general election even as editors will also use the opportunity to seek clarifications on different issues and ask critical questions on national issues relating to the common man insisting that “this is in line with our resolve to bring the right information to the electorate to enable them to make informed electoral choices”.

 

Continuing, Isah noted that “a major issue that featured prominently at the Editors’Workshops and Town Hall Meetings with the theme, “Media and the Task of Consolidating Nigeria’s Democracy”, which were held in the six geo-political zones from late last year to early this year was the imperative of editors to thoroughly interrogate the democratic landscape. This includes the political actors, especially the candidates vying for elective positions, the electoral body, that’s the Independent Electoral Commission, the security agencies, and all other groups involved in the conduct and monitoring of elections.

 

“You have an opportunity today to present your Master Plan to editors from the print, electronic and online editors. Our questions and comments will be based on your plan to rescue Nigeria… Nigerian youths are agitated. They are concerned about their future. They want solutions to their unending challenges. They are rightly aggrieved. We want you to use this forum to speak on the plans you have for them”, he stated.

 

 

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