Indications emerged on Monday that governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, will be pushing for constitutional amendment to accommodate the burning issue of restructuring the federation.
Rising from a meeting in Abuja on Monday, the Progressive Governors Forum, PGF, steering committee on good governance said it would look into the Mallam Nasiru el-Rufai’s Committee on true Federalism.
Recall that in late 2017, the National Working Committee of the ruling APC set up a committee headed by Governor Nasiru el-Rufai to come up with workable plans on how to go about issue of true federalism. The committee submitted its report in February of 2018.
Speaking with newsmen after the meeting, Edo state deputy governor, Phillip Shuaibu, alongside the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi and Deputy Leader of the House of Representatives, Peter Akpatason said the move had become necessary in order to address issues of governance and a constitution review that will be generally acceptable.
Shuaibu said they intended to find ways of how the executive, the legislative arms of government and the party can have a synergy to drive the party’s manifesto and tackle issues of governance in the various states.
Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi said they met to review some of the recommendations of the report received by the party from the el-Rufai committee on restructuring and find ways of making the recommendation actionable.
He said they had set up a sub-committee to come up with key areas requiring legislative and constitutional amendment especially on issues of governance both at the state and federal levels.
He said the committee would work to bring out the areas that will be submitted to the party’s NWC and that with the approval of the President, the areas so recommended will be submitted to both the Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Constitution review.
Deputy House Leader, Hon Peter Akpatason said “we are trying to reduce a whole lot of issues to have a more compact position that reflects the party’s agenda for taking Nigeria to the next level focusing on critical issues that Nigerians are concerned about and to properly align with the developmental efforts of the nation.”
Amongst other things, the el-Rufai committee recommended the establishment of state police, the merger of states, independent candidacy in elections, the introduction of referendum on burning national issues, and the amendment of the Petroleum Act, the Land Use Act, Nigeria Minerals and Mining Act, and the Petroleum Profit Tax Act 2007 to ensure that minerals, mining and oil are vested in the states except offshore minerals.
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