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| Atiku Abubakar |
Former
Vice President and All Progressive (APC )party chieftain, Atiku
Abubakar, has described as shocking and saddening, the decision of the
APC-led Senate to block the passage of Bill No. 3, which would have
granted devolution of power to the states.
In
a statement released by his media office in Abuja, the Waziri of
Adamawa decried the lost opportunity to honour one of the party’s
election promises to bring about change by shifting power closer to the
people in the remotest regions of our country.
“This
blockage of the Bill by an APC-led Senate majority is a betrayal of our
party’s pre-election promises,” Atiku said. “It was an important vote
and I’m shocked by some so-called progressives’ visceral and cynical
opposition to restructuring.”
Atiku
decried the reluctance of democratically elected lawmakers to remove
the insidious structural impediments to development, which decades of
military rule had hoisted upon our nation.
According
to him, instead of building the foundations for a true federation, a
small group of so-called progressive senators decided to stick with the
new party line, pretending they didn't know what restructuring was all
about, and that even if they knew, it couldn't be done.
“I
think this is disingenuous,” he said. “And I think it is a sad day for
our party. But I'm confident the APC will learn the right lesson from
this self-inflicted defeat, and remember the mission and mandate given
to us by the people.”
The
Waziri also expressed hope that Nigeria’s lawmakers would find the
courage to stand by what is right, and not by what serves their personal
vanities and political interests.
“Let
me be clear: Restructuring is no panacea to all our nation's problems.
But devolving resources and responsibilities from an overbearing,
unresponsive, and ineffective federal government to the states is the
first step we must make, if we are serious about putting our nation back
on track, and our people back to work,” he said.
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