Northern Elders Forum says it is yet to take a position on restructuring and will consult before adopting a stance

NORTHERN Elders Forum (Nef) officials have revealed that they are yet to take a decision on the vexed issue of restructuring that looks set to dominate Nigeria's political discourse in the run-up to the 2019 elections.

Since President Buhari assumed office in 2015, calls for the restructuring of the country have grown very loud with the government under pressure to adopt the 2014 National Confab report. It recommended a return to the 1958 fiscal federation arrangement under which the federating units controlled all resources within their domain but sent 50% of the taxes generated to the centre.

At independence, this arrangement was adopted but was jettisoned in 1967 following the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War and since then, the country has retained a unitary structure. Already, former vice president and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has promised that he will restructure the country if elected in February next year.

Under pressure on the matter, the Nef has said it was yet to take a stand on the lingering issue of restructuring Nigeria. Yima Sen, the Nef director-general, while speaking at the Handshake Across Nigeria summit titled Nigeria Beyond Oil, organised by Nzuko Umunna and The Core Federalists in Lagos, said they are still considering proposals put forward.

Mr Sen said:, “As a group, the Northern Elders Forum has met several times with the northern governors and traditional rulers over the issue of restructuring and discussions are still ongoing. However, one thing we have decided is that we are going to dialogue with our people and know what they want.

“Most often, the elites push an agenda because they think that is what those they are leading want and they usually do it out of pride and arrogance. We need to move from the level of sentiments to the scientific and it is important that when such issues are discussed, the elite should be humble enough to ask their people what they want and that is what we are doing.

“We are not going to decide for our people whether they want restructuring or not. We are going to ask them and listen to what they have to say.”