By Our Reporter
Abuja – Civil Society Organisation, CSO, Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy and Constitution (CDNDC), has said that restructuring, electoral reforms are the panacea to the present ethno-religious appointment of President Muhammadu Buhari since May 29, 2019.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Convener, CDNDC, Ariyo-Dare Atoye while expressing concern over alleged lopsidedness.
The statement reads in part: “Since 2016, we have been very consistent in telling the people of Nigeria that Gen. Buhari has only come to establish two things in government: to return the ethno-religious dominance of the core North and to entrench the dominance of his Fulani tribe.
“Since May 29, 2019, every initiative of the regime and everything it has done, including the prosecution of crimes, have all revolved around bolstering and cementing sectional interest, for instance, how do you explain a situation where IPOB agitators, Yahoo-boys and petty thieves are kept perpetually in cells, but Boko Haram terrorists are granted amnesty?
“Every strategic position, influential appointments, and emergency allocation of resources have been brazenly and sinfully cornered by the President, to the advantage of his ethno-religious group in the North, and to the disadvantaged of the rest of the country.
“Federal Character principle, fairness, and even merit have been jettisoned, while the public service and the federal civil service have been severely altered and bastardized, just because there is a regime that is unconscionably plotting to foist the dominance of one section over the rest.
“The National Assembly whose responsibility it is to address this grave injustice has been found to be culpable through its leadership in aiding the President, while it has not also demonstrated any commitment to challenging this unabated erosion of justice and fairness.
“Strategic components and agencies of Presidency, Finance, Oil, Revenue, Defense, Security, Intelligence, Ports, Anti-graft, Education, Agriculture, Water, Communication, Humanitarian and Emergency and many more, have been cornered by one section of the country, while their internal structures have also been altered to serve the same interest.
“Every move of the Buhari regime has lent credence to a suspected political decapitation ploy, designed to put the South at the mercy of the North, and with the hope of entrenching the political dominance of the core North to rule for a long time to come.”
Meanwhile, the statement also called on the President to promote unity, social justice, inclusion, equity, and purposeful direction.
“We can only urge the President to have a rethink as an elderly old man whose preoccupation ought to be about planting the seed of unity, entrenching social justice, fanning the air of love and giving the country a purposeful direction.
“The situation is so grave that even the commissioned agents of the regime from the deprived sections of the country are also whispering behind, and expressing their frustrations, but because of the perks they are enjoying, they cannot openly condemn this provincial manipulation of the country”, it claimed.
However, the group called on Nigerians to continue the demand for restructuring and electoral reform for a new order in the polity.
“We also wish to urge Nigerians not to relent in demanding for restructuring and electoral reforms as these important demands represent new opportunities for the country if it must survive economically and democratically”, it alleged.
