Buhari Has Not Rejected Restructuring – APC

THE All Progressive Congress (APC) has said President Muhammadu Buhari has not rejected the idea of restructuring the country as earlier stated in his new year message to Nigerians.

The party on Monday said the president was erroneously quoted.

The APC constituted a committee last year to look into calls for restructuring and prepare modalities for the parties approach to the issue.

The panel is led by Nasir El-Rufai, an APC governor and key ally of the president, and its work is said to be ongoing.

Mr. Buhari in his broadcast had said he strongly believes that Nigeria’s existential issues are not necessarily due to any defects in its structure.

The president said Nigeria should continue to operate its current presidential system, but welcomed ideas on how to make it less permeable to extravagance, waste and corruption.

The problems he said could be addressed by merely checking abuse of process and corruption.

“When all the aggregates of nationwide opinions are considered, my firm view is that our problems are more to do with process than structure.

“No human law or edifice is perfect,” the president said.

Reacting through its publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the APC argued that Mr. Buhari’s position cannot be taken to mean that he’s unwilling to restructure.

“From this address, we are not able to reach the conclusion that the President has rejected restructuring,” Abdullahi had told Premium Times.

“Rather, we are delighted to hear the President sharing the views of Nigerians that every (system) needs to be periodically reviewed in the context of emerging social and economic circumstances.

“By saying that the major problem is with processes rather than systems, he appears only to (be) telling us to bear in mind that no matter the choices we make on restructuring, it is how we manage our systems that would ultimately give us the kind of country we want to build.

“Quite significantly, by saying the government welcomes all ideas on how to make the country better, he has opened the door to all conversations including those on restructuring.

“Rather than serve as evidence of rejection therefore, we believe Mr. President’s speech has shown a significant disposition towards the idea of restructuring, which remains a cardinal philosophy of our party,” the spokesperson said.