Deputy National Organising Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Honourable Nze Duru, has assured Nigerians that the ruling party would redeem its pledge to devolution of power to federating states in the country.
Duru, a member of the APC National Working Committee gave the pledge at the weekend while speaking with journalists in Abuja.
Nigerian Tribune checks revealed that restructuring, otherwise called power devolution was dominant in the blueprint of the APC it unveiled to Nigerians on the eve of the 2015 general elections.
Further checks revealed that former national chairman of the party, Chief Odigie Oyegun during his stewardship constituted a True Federalism Committee with former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El Rufai as Chairman.
The Committee which was constituted in 2017 in its report submitted in January 2018, recommended resource control, making local government an affair of states, constitutional amendment to allow merger of states, state police, state court of appeal and independent candidacy, amongst others.
The 23 member Committee report which was later submitted to the APC National Executive Committee, ( NEC) for deliberation was jettisoned by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The APC Deputy National Organising Secretary maintained that apart from the Nasir El- Rufai Committee report, the national leadership of the ruling party would influence the party stakeholders and the Tinubu administration to consider adoption of certain recommendations of the National Conference Committee set up by the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
He pleaded with the media to put the issue of power devolution in front burner of national discourse.
He said: “I believe that the fourth estate of the realm should take leadership in canvasing the adoption and implementation of not just the confab report but more importantly, the El-Rufai report that was set up and literarily adopted with some improvements in the outcome of the confab report. It has become an article of faith in APC and for APC; in the ideology and philosophy of the party on the basis of which the current administration campaigned.
“The issue of devolution of power and restructuring is clearly embedded in that report and I would like to charge, as much as we are making the efforts internally to throw up that report to hold the government to account and to implement fine points on the basis of which we campaigned to Nigerians. I will charge the fourth estate of the realm to throw it as a Bible and article of faith on the face of our leaders to ensure that, that part of the report is implemented.
“It is good for Nigeria, it will work for Nigeria and it will be best for Nigeria because what that would have achieved is that the overhead cost in governance will be substantially removed. Level playing field both in business and politics will be enhanced and Nigerians in their area of influence will be given sense of belonging that this country belongs to you and I; that we have no other country to call our own other than Nigeria. So, you have more charge on that because you have our party philosophy, you have the manifesto, you have the El-Rufai report and the confab report.”
Speaking on move by certain opposition parties to form a coalition against the APC in next general elections, Honourable Duru said the party was not threatened as he noted the present administration has continued to impress Nigerians with its performance and pronouncements on burning national issues.
“I can only tell you that the events of the last few days have also reengineered a sense of optimism on the part of Nigerians that this government is a listening government. That this government is a government that hearken to the views of Nigerians. I mean, it couldn’t have happened before now that when the general public feel that a certain functionary of government was acting in a different manner that a listening government will say you are not guilty but you should step aside to enable an unfettered investigation on those allegations against the person and that is what this government represents.
“You have also seen a lot of actions that have been taken place in the last few weeks. It gives hope to Nigerians that if we continue to work in this trend and path, that APC may also become unassailable in the next few years; a year or two from now, leading to the next election. I think that for me, we will continue to ensure and hope that the opposition party will rise up to the occasion, give a formidable, constructive engagement to our political party. It is theirs to provide the opposition but it is also for APC to continue to take the lead.
“As to whether we are threatened, of course in any political dispensation you like to know and understand what the other party is doing so that you can also go ahead of them in the engagement of the Nigerian public. I think that in the next few months Nigerians will begin to see that this government is working very hard in their own interest and of course, we will continue to give the government the support that it requires to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people of Nigeria.”
. TheWitness
