Under the auspices of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum, leaders and elders from the South-East, South-West, South-South, and Middle Belt areas declared that the country’s and democracy’s futures remained dire and that urgent restructuring was therefore necessary.
Following their national conference in Abuja on Friday, the federal government issued a communiqué in which it emphasized the need to reorganize the nation and restore true federalism, as originally outlined in the constitutions of 1960 and 1963.
“The country belongs to all citizens, irrespective of their political affiliation and ethnic representation,” the communiqué stated.
“The future of Nigeria and democracy remain bleak without restructuring, and as such, it must be carried out immediately,” it continued.
The organization bemoaned the persistent marginalization of some regions of the nation in terms of the number of states, local governments, and even appointments to the Federal Executive Council.
In line with other geopolitical zones, the communiqué states that the leaders of the South-East should pay attention to the calls for proper representation of their region in the Federal Executive Council.
The organization argued that freeing Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, would advance security and peace throughout the nation and in the South-East. They urged the federal government to act quickly to accomplish this.
Leaders from the Pan Niger Delta Forum, the Middle Belt Forum, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, the Pan Igbo socio-cultural organization, and the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organization Afenifere were present at the conference.
Several national leaders attended the meeting, which was presided over by Edwin Clark. These leaders included Chief Ayo Adebanjo, the leader of Afenifere; Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the President-General of Ohanaeze; Pogu Bitrus, the President of the MBF; and Senator Emmanuel Ibok-Essien, the National Chairman of PANDEF.