RESTRUCTURING: Meeting of S’West, S’East elders fail to agree on way forward

Eminent Leaders of Thought (ELT) which comprises elders from the South West and South East regions of Nigeria on Thursday met in Lagos over the agitating issue of restructuring.

Those who attended the meeting which was held behind closed doors included Professor Ben Nwabueze, Ayo Adebanjo, among others.

Others included Gen. Alani Akinrinade (retd), Gen. Ike Nwachukwu (retd), former governor Gbenga Daniel and Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (retd), among others.

The group which seeks at having a national consensus on the political restructuring of Nigeria, was however unable to reach a conclusion on the procedure to adopt to go about the restructuring issue.

Secretary of the group, Mr. Olawale Okunniyi, who briefed newsmen after the meeting, said the group also discussed means of fostering unity and dousing the current tension following the demand for Biafra among others.

He however stated that, the ELT through the meeting succeeded in forming a group to be known as Project Nigeria Movement, which he explained, has a mandate to serve as the engine room to reach out to all sectors of the nation in order to find a lasting solution to the current tension in the country.

Read also : RESTRUCTURING: What else will APC and El-Rufai’s new team tell Nigerians?

He further explained that since the meeting was inconclusive, that the elders have resolved to meet again. Okunniyi added that after more consultation and resolution on the restructuring procedure, that ELT will come up with a communique on its position on the restructuring debate.

The secretary of the group emphasised that ELT is totally not in support of Nigeria’s disintegration.

He said the group will take a deeper look at issues like quit notice to Ndigbo living in the North to vacate the region by October 1 and the demand for a Republic of Biafra, when it meets next.

While issues of restructuring continue to dominate political discourse in Nigeria, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that Nigerians are misinterpreting the type of restructuring it promised in its manifesto.

The party has therefore set up a committee headed by Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who recently branded those calling for restructuring as hypocrites and irresponsible people, to help define its own version of restructuring to Nigerians.

 

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