Buhari misunderstood restructuring – Ubani
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Second Vice President, Monday Ubani, yesterday said President Muhammadu Buhari must have misunderstood Nigerians’ demand for restructuring.
The lawyer said an aspect of the restructuring Nigerians were seeking was the devolution of power from the Federal Government to the states.
According to him, the President appeared to understand restructuring to strictly mean a return to the Parliamentary system of government.
The President said: “We tried the Parliamentary system: we jettisoned it. Now there are shrill cries for a return to the Parliamentary structure. In older democracies these systems took centuries to evolve so we cannot expect a copied system to fit neatly our purposes. We must give a long period of trial and improvement before the system we have adopted is anywhere near fit for purpose.”
Ubani in a statement said, “Maybe he misunderstood what restructuring really means. The restructuring we’re talking about is removing most of the things being handled by the Federal Government. Let them be decentralised.
“States should share some of these duties in order to ensure good governance, proper structure and a well-run federation.”
Ubani said the President’s New Year speech was otherwise inspiring, and urged him to match words with action.
“Every other thing he said is very inspiring and I’m very happy that the government is making some level of progress, such as in agriculture and stabilising the naira.
“A lot of things he said really inspires hope, especially in the development of basic infrastructure. He mentioned the railways, electricity, and other key infrastructure suffering some level of deficiency.
“Those are important in restarting the economy, especially power. So I urge him to match his words with action,” he added.
