Yoruba’s Council of Elders sends message to President Muhammadu Buhari on what they are expecting to do, the leaders of the Yoruba’s Council of Elders leader speaks;
His words: “I have written a congratulatory letter to the President
on his re-election and assured him of YCE’s support for his
administration towards achieving a greater Nigeria.
“In the letter, I told him that his victory carries enormous
responsibilities among which were the need to ensure national unity and a
revisit of the el-Rufai’s committee report on restructuring.
“The President has replied the letter, appreciating it and the in-depth
suggestions. He assured me that the suggestions will be given adequate
cognizance.
“We have to gradually move back to the period of generating revenue
and not sharing revenue. Each federating unit should be allowed to
exploit and explore its resources.
“They should then pay an agreed percentage to maintain few essential
services in the centre such as Defence, Foreign Affairs, Immigration and
Custom services.”
In his remarks on the 14 items on the exclusive list in the First
Republic, while noting that the rest were residual for the states,
he continued: “Today, there are 66 items on the exclusive list. The
intervention of the military in 1966 truncated the march to true
federalism.
“So, in the next four years, Buhari should be able to finish the
process, foundation and implementation of the el-Rufai’s committee
recommendations.
I think it is very essential that the report is implemented as a first step to entrench a true federal system of government.
“The President should ensure that his appointments reflect the
diversity of Nigeria and in line with the Federal Character Principle
enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution.
We must ensure that people think of Nigeria before anything else,
irrespective of tribe and religious affiliation. The President must
ensure that he bequeaths a legacy of a united Nigeria.
“He must ensure that the people remained the centre of all their decisions, including security of lives and properties.”
On the 2019 elections, he added: “Let me confess. I am very proud of the Yoruba race.
The outcome of the election gladdens my heart considerably because
the political temperature was very high during the campaign season.
Everybody was anxious and worried that there might be widespread
violence. Yes, there were violence and skirmishes here and there, but
not to the extent envisaged.
“Looking at the conduct of the election by itself, I think we have
made progress. We are not yet there, but we are far better than where we
were before in Yorubaland.”
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