Buhari says he will agree to restructuring once there is a proper definition of what it means

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has agreed to the restructuring of Nigeria on the condition that there should be proper definition of what Nigerians want before the government can delve into the exercise.

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. However, President Buhari has ignored these deafening calls so far but with the pressure mounting ahead of the 2019 elections, he has finally succumbed and agreed to consider restructuring.

Speaking during an interactive session with Nigerians living in France, President Buhari said many Nigerians who have been calling for restructuring have been doing so without defining what it should be. He added that his government would be happy to restructure once the terms were clearly defined.

President Buhari said: “There are too many people talking lazily about restructuring in Nigeria but unfortunately, people are not asking them individually what do they mean by restructuring? What form do they want restructuring to take?

“Do they want us to have something like the three regions we used to have? They are just talking loosely about restructuring, so let them define it and then we see how we can peacefully do it in the interest of Nigerians.

“They are just saying they want Nigeria restructured and they don’t have the clue of what the form the restructuring should be. So, anybody who talks to you about restructuring in Nigeria, ask him what he means and the form he wants it to take.”

At the meeting, he also gave reasons why Nigerians in diaspora might not vote in the 2019 general elections. According to the president, it will be very difficult for the Independent National Electoral Commission to put in place structures to accommodate diasporans with just about three months to the 2019 elections.