El-Rufai, Fayemi insincere, APC used restructuring to win votes for Buhari – Onabanjo

Prof. Babs Onabanjo, President of A.D. King Foundation, has accused Governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) and Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna) of changing the narratives of restructuring.

He accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of riding on the agitation to amass vote for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

In a statement on Tuesday, the don said political class in Nigera has gained proficiency not in providing good governance but in pulling the wool in the eyes of the electorates.

The former President, Nigerian Alliance for Democracy, recalled that in 2017, the APC “made an attempt to hijack the issue with the inauguration of the El-Rufai restructuring committee on Thursday 10th August, 2017”.

He said at the end of the sitting, several recommendations were tabled before the leadership of the ruling party.

Onbanko asked the Kaduna helmsman to explain what has become the report of his committee since submission long before the 2019 election.

“It is quite unfortunate that Governor El-Rufai lends himself to be used for these horrendous tasks. You can then imagine my surprise to read that Governor El-Rufai has finally woken up again to the restructuring debate.”

Onabanjo noted that on November 1 at the 50th anniversary of the Centre for Historical Documentary and Research, El-Rufai stated that restructuring is inevitable.

The professor added that if El- Rufai must be taken seriously, he should promote regional restructuring and autonomy rather than state restructuring.

He warned that narrative for restructuring should not used to protect the status-quo which is not equitable and lopsided.

Onabanjo stressed that true federalism and genuine restructuring should never be state based but rather regional.

The don said regions can then determine the appropriate number of states within each region and the economic viability of the proposed state within their regions.

“And to Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who is now proclaimed as the adopted son of the north, he should note that restructuring only means one thing to the Yoruba nation and the progressives – Regional autonomy, nothing less. Dr. Fayemi and Governor El-Rufai must not change the narrative”, the statement added.