The Yoruba elders have insisted that Nigeria must return to a proper Federation as obtained in the 1960 and 1963 constitutions to ensure peace and meaningful development.
They made this view known at the Yoruba summit held in Ibadan on Thursday, which attracted Yoruba leaders, governors, parliamentarians, social cultural groups, professional bodies, market leaders and youth groups. The umbrella body for the Igbo, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and leaders of the Niger Delta also joined leaders of the South-West in making the demands.
The summit after exhaustive deliberations issued a communiqué signed by Afe Babalola (SAN) and Dr. Kunle Olajide, the Aare of Efon Kingdom.
According to them, the country as a multi-ethnic country could only know real peace and development when it is run along federal lines.
The summit resolved that the greatest imperatives of restructuring Nigeria were to move from a rent-seeking and money sharing anti-development economy to productivity.
(7/9/17)
04826/7/9/17/Esther Bode Are/JAU/NAN
It stated that this could be achieved by ensuring that the federating units are free to own and develop their resources, while they pay agreed sums to the Federation purse to implement central services.
The summit agreed that the federating units, be it states, zones or regions, must themselves be governed by written constitution to curb impunity at all levels.
It demanded that Nigeria should be a federation comprised of six regions and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, while the regions shall, in turn, be composed of states.
