A Chieftain of All Progressive Congress (APC) in Osun state, Prince Dotun Babayemi has threw his weight behind people clamouring for restructuring of Nigeria.
The Gbongan in Ayedaade local government of Osun state born politician stressed that restructuring is inevitable for the promotion of peace, equity and development in the country.
Speaking with journalists at a media parley in the NUJ Press Centre, Osogbo, Babayemi, who is a security expert said states should be allowed to control their resources.
According to him, “oil producing states collect 13% derivation from the federation account whereas solid minerals producing states do not enjoy any derivation fund at all. Thus, when a state like Akwa Ibom gets N20b allocation within 3 months, states like Osun gets paltry N2b within the same period. While States like Osun and Zamfara have the largest deposit of gold in the country, many other states too have various solid minerals but they have no derivation funds coming to them.”
Babayemi, who was a key resource person in implementation of platform for 2015 Nigerian Presidential, National Assembly and Lagos gubernatorial elections for the All Progressives Congress (APC) noted that the military coup d’état of 1966 affected the regional developments of the first republic and the consequent military interregnum for decades produced unitary command structure that has created the present inequality.
He added that the military produced constitution of 1979 that produced the costly presidential system of government that ushered in the second republic as well as the aborted third republic and the current political dispensation are faulty because they are not people-made constitutions. Thus, Nigerians should be free to discuss their future, which include restructuring of the country in a democracy.
Babayemi, who frowned at the present proliferation of security agencies stated that the role assigned to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (,NSCDC) should have been left entirely in the confines of the Nigerian Police and the role assigned to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) be left with the Highways unit in the police.
He added that he would have preferred the strengthening of the Nigeria police rather than duplication of its duties with multi-security agencies.
Packaged by Bunmi Oladejo
