Frontline PDP presidential hopeful, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN, has restated his commitment to the implementation of the principle of restructuring to ensure peace, justice and fairness needed for the acceleration of development in the country.
He was speaking at the Unity Hall of the Government House, Asaba on Tuesday while addressing Delta State PDP Executive Committee, delegates to the party’s national convention, local government chairmen as well as the leadership of the state’s House of Assembly and party elders.
It was in continuation of his consultations with stakeholders across the country ahead of the PDP presidential primary.
Turaki who lamented the resurgence of agitations for ethnic self-determination noted that “we are getting to a situation where citizens are considering self-help measures to address their problems because of the divisiveness and open discrimination by the APC government because certain parts of the country did not vote for the party.
“The attitude of the government,” he noted, “has heightened mutual distrust among the people to the extent that some are even doubting the sustenance of the Nigerian Project today.”
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria who received a standing ovation for his eloquence and understanding of the issues affecting the country, noted that some of the laws including the constitution were skewed in a manner to sustain the imbalance in the polity, giving rise to agitations by component parts.
The development, he said, have necessitated the need for restructuring starting with the review of relevant laws.
While stressing that it was not enough to speak about restructuring without outlining a roadmap for addressing the concern, Turaki said that it was essential to address restructuring from the perspectives of devolution of power, resource control, true fiscal federalism, creation of states and the the issue of state police that have agitated the minds of people.
The former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs emphasised that he would implement the recommendations of the 2014 National Political Conference disregarded by the APC government which could have quelled the agitations for self-determination.
He also said that he had the capacity to to take the required decisions to tackle the perennial security challenges having served as the chairman of a presidential committee which made extensive and holistic recommendations on the problem, but were also disregarded by the APC government.
Turaki, who said that there was no cause for alarm over the number of presidential aspirants in the PDP, however advised that the party should elect a person like him who can rekindle the spirit of patriotism in the people, a bridge builder who is well educated and imbued with integrity, credibility, experience and dynamism as well as the fear of God.
The deputy chairman, Barrister Val Areyenka who stood in for the chairman commended Turaki for his incisive presentation which he delivered extempore.
He also agreed with the aspirant that the PDP must unite and work harder to “change the change that has been chaining the people,” in apparent derision of the APC slogan.
