Atiku says he has prepared draft bill on restructuring which shall be presented to National Assembly

FORMER vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar says he has a draft amendment bill on the restructuring of Nigeria which shall be presented to the National Assembly on its first day of sitting of he gets elected president next year.

Nigeria foes to the polls in February with Alhaji Abubakar standing as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Other major contenders in the election are former Lagos State governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Former Anambra State governor Peter Obi of the Labour Party  and former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party.

Alhaji Abubakar said whereas he would not release the document now, Nigerians should be rest assured that issues of resource control, which continues to be a major talking-point in the restructuring sphere, as well as devolution and state police, are on the cards. Speaking to members of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, at the Marriot Hotel, Lagos, the PDP presidential candidate explained that both the amendment bill and his five point agenda which he tagged My Covenant With Nigerians,  is a product of wide consultation and expert advice.

He added: “In preparing the draft restructuring amendment bill, what I did was to assemble a team of lawyers who are some of the best in the country. I picked lawyers from each of the six geo-political zones so that each zone would have representation and a sense of belonging in what we were packaging for Nigerians and also to take into account the interests of each component part of the country.

“What they have come up with after series of sessions is a draft bill that is ready as I speak to you. The bill is ready and it would be presented to the National Assembly on the first day of their sitting after inauguration.

“Mind you, the process of amending the constitution involves the executive, the National Assembly and the state houses of assembly s, on the first day of sitting, I will present the bill. The bill will cut across all spheres of restructuring and resource control is accommodated in it.”

On the vexed issue of security, Alhaji Abubakar said more boots were needed on the ground. According to him, doubling the number of policemen in the country to about 700,000 would help with the challenge of policing, while at the same time reducing unemployment.