Factional National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmed Makarfi has said that he was in support of restructuring the country. He said it was wrong for anyone or leader to dismiss the clamour for it.

Makarfi, who is also a former Governor of Kaduna State, told viewers on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily that the best thing that government could do now was to gather all the ideas, talk to every group and then arrive at a decision on the issue of restructuring.

“If the consensus is that it is good enough, then we set the agenda for its implementation.

“Those calling for a restructuring should have been calling for the implementation of (the 2014 National Conference) report, that would have been specific.

“They are aware that the report exists so they should be more specific and I commend the Senate for questioning the executive to present that report for its consideration – it provides a beginning point.”

This is coming after the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai had described the recent calls for a restructuring of Nigeria as political opportunism and irresponsibility.

He said President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had done far more in practical terms than past administrations, describing proponents as mere opportunists.

El-Rufai listed some of the steps which he said the Buhari-administration had taken to create a federal-state balance.

According to him, issues that had been hidden from state governments were now much more open with governors now more involved in the finances of the excess crude account, among other things.

In his words: “The National Chairman of our party will restate that commitment and we are discussing it, and as I said, President Buhari and Osinbajo’s government has taken very concrete steps rather than rhetoric to actually move in that direction and we are going to move in that direction but we do not believe that the basis for it is rhetoric and opportunism. We do not believe that the 2014 CONFAB report is a sensible basis to even begin.” (Channels TV)

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