Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and Chairman, APC restructuring committee, said yesterday that the ruling party is not afraid of restructuring.
El- Rufai said draft bill produced and submitted by his committee in January 2018 was stepped down for fear of politicization ahead of 2019 general elections.
He said that his committee had made decisive recommendations in the bill for onward submission to the National Assembly which could also be sponsored as a private bill.
He, however, noted that some of those advocating for restructuring were yet to articulate what they actually wanted so that they could be understood.
El- Rufai spoke while fielding questions at a panel discussion of the ongoing 26th Nigerian Economic Summit (NESG) holding at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
While assuring that consideration of the bill would soon take-off, El- Rufai said they do not need an executive bill to start action on the draft bill submitted by the committee.
He added that consideration could be done in piece meal “as we do not require an omnibus amendment of the constitution to restructure the country.”
The governor chided some northern leaders who were opposed to restructuring, saying that they were doing so for selfish purpose.
“The way some people present restructuring is so insulting and derogatory. We should have an honest conversation on what is working and what is not. We don’t have anything to benefit making derogatory remarks on against a particular group of people because of restructuring.
“If there are northern leaders today by virtue of the fact that I am a governor, I must be there. So, who are these northerners against restructuring? Who are they? Who are they speaking for?” he asked.
