Restructuring: Afenifere, others attack president Buhari over new year comment

A pan-Yoruba social-political group, the Afenifere and a former lawmaker Femi Okurounmu, tackled President Buhari on the new year restructuring comment - An Afenifere chieftain Ayo Adebanjo and Okurounmu called on the president to restructure the current political system or resign immediately - Okurounmu said the president is opposed to restructuring because it benefits the Fulani interest which he represents A pan-Yoruba social-political group, the Afenifere has berated President Muhammadu Buhari for not showing interest in restructuring Nigeria. The general secretary of Afenifere Sehinde Arogbofa in an interview with The Punch said if the country is not restructured, the problem facing it would persist and citizens would continue to suffer. He said: ''I hope Buhari is not telling us he is at war with the National Assembly because, I think the National Assembly has set up a committee on restructuring. The APC too has set up a committee. So he (Buhari) should not give us the feeling that he is at war with these people. ''I hope the President is not at war with the National Assembly or the good people of Nigeria who are saying let us restructure Nigeria so that every Nigerian will surely benefit. Even Buhari himself will benefit from it'' On his part, the spokesman for the group Yinka Odumakin said the issue of restructuring would determine who Nigerians would vote for in 2019, noting that Afenifere would mobilise and champion the restructuring cause in the general elections. According to him, “The President firing this kind of salvo was only drawing the line in the sand between the unitary and progressive forces who want Nigeria restructured so that it can make progress.’’ An Afenifere chieftain Ayo Adebanjo; and a former lawmaker Senator Femi Okurounmu, called on the President to restructure the current political system or resign immediately. The two elder statesmen said this during separate stated this on Monday, January 1. Okurounmu, who represented Ogun Central Senatorial District between 1999 and 2003, lambasted Buhari for saying Nigeria’s problems are not that of structure but process. The former lawmaker said: ''I have lost all hope in this government. The President is not only clueless but has also lost all sense of direction. He has probably lost his memory and so he is no longer competent enough to function as a president. ''My wish is that he would be courageous enough to resign and surrender the office to someone who is more capable and has all his cognitive functions intact. ''For President Muhammadu Buhari saying Nigeria’s problem is not structure but process only reinforces his well established and well known position on restructuring. ''It is well known that President Muhammadu Buhari is opposed to restructuring, because it benefits the Fulani interest which he represents.'' Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had reported that President Buhari’s New Year address has been described as ‘depressing’ by the Peoples Democratic Party. The opposition party made it position on the matter public in a statement released by its national publicity secretary Kola Ologbondiyan on Monday, January 1. Nigerians want PDP back in 2019 - GoodluckJonathan declares - on NAIJ.com TV