Governor Fayose suddenly backs APC, commends party for this reason

– Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state is never known to be a supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari or the APC

– The governor surprisingly hailed the ruling APC on Sunday, but his commendation goes to the party in the south-west

– Fayose slammed the national body for reneging on the issue of restructuring after making the promise prior to the 2015 election

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state has commended the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the south-west for calling for the restructuring on Nigeria in order to establish true federalism.

Fayose, a notable critic of the APC and the President Muhammadu Buhari government, said it was strange that the APC, which was at the fore-front of the agitation for true federalism was now against restructuring as the ruling party.

Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the vice president, had recently declared that Nigeria’s problem is not the need for restructuring, but true governance, but this was opposed by Abubakar Atiku, former vice president, who has consistently maintained that the country needs to be restructured.

Osinbajo’s stand on restructuring was also opposed by the APC in the south-west which demanded for restructuring and true federalism in the face of the challenges facing the country.

While hailing the position expressed recently by the south-west APC, the governor said the party must now go beyond playing to the gallery and set machinery in motion to restructure the country.

The governor said this in a statement made available to NAIJ.com by Lere Olayinka, his special assistant on public communications and new media, Lere Olayinka.

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He said: “Under the present APC government of President Mohammadu Buhari, Nigeria is returning to full-blown unitary system of government.”

“It is on record that the APC said at a debate on ‘Addressing the rising insecurity in Nigeria, what is the master plan?’ organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) on December 18, 2014, that it would ensure true federalism and ensure adequate community policing through the establishment of state-controlled police so as to curb the protracted security challenges in the country.

“Sad enough, now that it is the ruling party, the APC is no longer talking about true federalism, especially the state police that it canvassed while in the opposition.”

Governor Fayose, said for the country to develop as expected, states must be strengthened financially.

“Nigeria developed faster in the fifties and sixties when it was practicing confederal system of government, with the regions running its own affairs almost autonomously.

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“A situation where there are mineral resources in a state and the State cannot do anything about them without approval from the federal government will not foster the development that we all yearn for.

“A situation where the federal government has turned itself into lord and master over other federating units in the country, using federal agencies to oppress even state governors is not acceptable.

“It was in this spirit that the immediate past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government organised a National Conference in 2014 and far-reaching decisions were made by eminent Nigerians during the conference.

“Sad enough, we are now being told by our president that report of the conference has been thrown into the dustbin of history.

“This is not good enough, coming from a president, whose party promised restructuring, including establishment of state police.

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“It will therefore serve the collective interest of Nigeria and its people for the report of the 2014 National Conference to be considered by President Buhari with a view to, once and for all resolve the various national questions that are holding down the country.”

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