….Urges Tinubu to sign S’East dev commission bill into law, release Kanu
As the clamour for restructuring continues to gain momentum, former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Abia State, Chief Charles Ogbonnaya, has advocated Nigeria’s return to the 1963 Constitution as a panacea to the current economic and political maladies plaguing the country.
This is as he has, again, urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sign the South East Development Commission Bill to give the people a sense of belonging, tackle infrastructural deficit and fast-track development in the region.
He also appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to heed the nationwide appeals for the release of the detained Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Chief Ogbonnaya who spoke in Umuahia, said that the 1963 Constitution encouraged regional governments to develop at their pace.
According to him, the return to the defunct constitution will help encourage healthy regional competition and eliminate much concentration of power at the centre.
He said:” The current infighting over which geo political zone produces the president will no longer be there because the centre will be weak while each region controls its resources.
The former Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, said:”once Nigeria returns to the 1963 Constitution, the struggle for power at the centre and competition for the control of resources will cease”.
Chief Ogbonnaya recalled that Nigeria recorded a quantum leap in economic development under the 1963 Constitution as the regions were in charge of their resources.
He urged members of the National Assembly as well, the Presidency and every necessary stakeholder to support the advocacy.
” Under the 2963 Constitution, the North had their ground nut pyramids. The West had their cocoa while the East had their palm. If we should recall, there was an accelerated development before we now adopted this Constitution that concentrates power and management of resources at the centre”.
Blaming the current constitution for Nigeria’s wobbling economy and political tension, Ogbonnaya said states would stop their over dependence on Federal Government for sustenance.
” We need to do away with this economic dependency on the centre. Each region should grow and manage their resources. After all, it is said that there should be no food for the lazy man, “he insisted.
Chief Ogbonnaya who was the Abia State Coordinator of the 20 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, expressed support for the policies and programmes of President Tinubu.
said he was in total support of the policies of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, including the
He also supported the recent reversion to the old national anthem, saying that the change is geared towards the economic and political emancipation of Nigeria.
He solicited the support of the South East for President Tinubu, arguing that that time has come for the zone to politically engage and synergise with other zones.
“We should support Tinubu because the road he is pointing at, is where we should follow.
On the South East Development Commission Bill, Ogbonnaya said , signing the bill into law would be one of President Tinubu’s legacies for Sprint
The former Commissioner who commended the 50 House of Representatives members who wrote a letter to the President, demanding the release of Kanu, urged President Tinubu to consider the appeal, and give political solution to the matter.
He argued that the release of Kanu would help restore peace to the South East.
” Release of Nnamdi Kanu from prison will be a sign of Mr President’s genuine goodwill to Ndigbo”, he said.
” The unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu is another important action by Mr President that will assuage Igbo people and open up the economy of the entire South East,” he added.
According to him, President Tinubu will enjoy the unalloyed support of Ndigbo by releasing Kanu, and assenting to the South East Development Commission Bill.
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