Elder statesman Edwin Clark has penned a letter to President Bola Tinubu, requesting the enforcement of the 2014 National Conference report.
In the letter dated 13th June and shared with the press, Clark also implored President Tinubu to promptly initiate a restructuring of Nigeria for the country’s unity.
“After the elections, it is imperative that we address the restructuring of our nation,” emphasized the leader of the Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders’ Forum.
“I reiterate, an immediate restructuring of Nigeria is essential for the country’s continuity, and I urge Mr. President to promptly act on implementing the significant 2014 National Conference Report, which presented 600 recommendations to the Presidency on restructuring Nigeria across all aspects of our society.”
The elder statesman also commented on the challenges faced by the embattled leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, who has been detained since 2021.
He urged Tinubu to handle Kanu with a political approach, similar to how the Federal Government dropped the three-count terrorism charge against the detained President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Bodejo.
‘Critical Oversight’
In his correspondence, the Ijaw Nation leader accused former President Muhammadu Buhari of marginalizing the Igbo people from the South-East region of Nigeria.
The elder statesman alleged that the Buhari administration neglected the South-East in certain appointments during his tenure.
To Clark, the discrimination and injustice against the Igbo people had not lessened during Tinubu’s administration. He pointed out that while Tinubu appointed 10 ministers from the South-West region, only six were appointed from the South-East.
President Buhari was accused of trying to suppress the Igbos for reasons unknown. For instance, the NNPC board he formed had nine members, with only one from the South-West, one from the South-South, and none from the South-East, despite three South-Eastern states being oil-producing. The rest of the members, including his Chief of Staff, were from the North, a region that does not produce oil.
Clark also criticized President Buhari’s administration for continuing the discrimination against the Igbos. He highlighted the unequal distribution of ministerial appointments, with 10 Yorubas from the South-West and only five from the South-East. He emphasized that the failure to appoint a sixth minister from the South-East was unjustifiable and no efforts had been made to rectify this omission.
