- Demand 17 autonomous regions, regional police, 80% revenue retention
•Seek end to over-centralisation, call for national constitutional dialogue
•Say restructuring will preserve Nigeria’s unity, strengthen peace, security, development
Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
Regional leaders and concerned citizens from across Nigeria have ended a three-day meeting in Abuja with a call for the Federal Government to establish a National Rebirth Commission to drive a comprehensive constitutional restructuring of the country.
The leaders, who met under the aegis of the Concerned Citizens Assembly at NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja, from Monday to yesterday, Wednesday, said the proposed commission should coordinate negotiations among the Federal Government, proposed regions and other stakeholders towards the emergence of a new federal constitutional framework.
In a communiqué issued and read by the Convener of the Concerned Citizens Assembly, Deacon Owolabi Oladejo, at the end of the meeting, the leaders also proposed the restructuring of Nigeria into 17 autonomous federated regions, with substantial powers over their internal affairs, regional constitutions, regional policing and control of resources generated within their territories.
The assembly said the restructuring was necessary to address what it described as the excessive centralisation of political and economic powers at the centre, which it argued had undermined effective governance, security, accountability and development.
It declared: “The present structure of Nigeria requires fundamental reform if the country is to achieve sustainable peace, security, development and accountable governance.”
The leaders, however, stressed that their proposal was not aimed at breaking up Nigeria, but at establishing a stronger federation in which the constituent regions would enjoy substantial autonomy while remaining part of one sovereign country.
The Communique read in part, “Restructuring is not a programme for the disintegration of Nigeria,” the assembly stated, adding that the proposed federal arrangement would “preserve Nigeria as one sovereign country while allowing its constituent regions sufficient autonomy to govern themselves according to their circumstances, aspirations and constitutional choices.”
The proposed National Rebirth Commission, according to the communiqué, would have a broad constitutional and transitional mandate to facilitate the implementation of the restructuring proposals.
The commission would coordinate the constitutional restructuring process, facilitate negotiations between the proposed regions and the Federal Government, resolve outstanding territorial questions and organise referendums where negotiated settlements prove impossible.
It would also develop the framework for the transition to autonomous regional governance, coordinate the preparation of federal and regional constitutional instruments and facilitate the transition to fiscal federalism and regional security arrangements.
The assembly further proposed that the commission should establish a Truth, Reconciliation, Unity and Equity Department as part of efforts to address historical grievances and promote national cohesion.
It said the commission should comprise persons of “recognised competence, integrity, independence and national standing” and operate transparently.
The leaders proposed 17 autonomous regions: Akwa Ibom, Ane Igala, Apa-Agba, Bendel, Caliphate, Cross River, Gurara, Hausa, Igbo, Ijaw, Kanem, Lower Benue, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Savannah and Yoruba regions.
The assembly said the Plateau-Gurara proposal had been divided into Plateau Region and Gurara Region, while the application for Apa-Agba Region was approved, bringing the total number of proposed regions to 17.
It cautioned, however, that the final determination of regional boundaries must be based on consent, territorial contiguity, economic viability, cultural affinity and constitutional principles.
The leaders said unresolved territorial questions should not be determined by emotion, historical grievances, numerical strength or political pressure.
Instead, they recommended an “objective, transparent and evidence-based process” taking into account historical, cultural, geographical, economic, administrative and security considerations, as well as the wishes of affected communities.
Where such disputes could not be resolved through negotiations and objective boundary-delineation mechanisms, the assembly proposed that the affected citizens should decide through referendums.
“The Assembly considered the principle of consent of the governed as fundamental to the restructuring process,” the communiqué stated.
Under the proposed federal arrangement, the regions would become autonomous entities within the Federation and exercise substantial authority over their internal affairs.
Each region would also be empowered to establish institutions suited to its circumstances, subject to the Federal Constitution and powers expressly reserved for the Federal Government.
The leaders proposed that the Federal Government should retain responsibility for foreign affairs, customs, immigration and emigration, the national economy, currency and the Central Bank, national defence and security.
They also called for the abolition of the concurrent legislative list, insisting that all powers not specifically assigned to the Federal Government should reside with the regions.
“The Federal Government should become a government of clearly defined federal responsibilities rather than an over-centralised authority exercising residual control over the constituent regions,” the assembly said.
On fiscal federalism, the regional leaders proposed that regions should retain 80 per cent of revenues generated within their territories, while contributing 20 per cent to the Federal Government.
They said the arrangement was consistent with the fiscal principles that operated under the 1963 Republican Constitution and what they described as global best practices.
The proposed 80:20 arrangement, they argued, would promote accountability, productivity, competition, development and responsible management of public resources.
“The fiscal principle shall be 80 per cent of revenues generated within a region be retained by that region,” the assembly stated, adding that the regions would contribute “the remaining 20 per cent of their revenue to the Federal Government.”
The leaders also demanded the establishment of regional security structures, including regional police, to address local security challenges.
“Regions shall have full responsibility for regional policing and internal public safety, subject to the Federal Constitution,” they said.
They, however, stressed that regional security institutions must operate within constitutional safeguards, respect fundamental human rights and remain under civilian authority.
National defence, territorial integrity and external security, they maintained, should remain Federal Government responsibilities.
The assembly further proposed that each autonomous region should have its own Regional Constitution, adopted through a legitimate and participatory process.
Such constitutions, it said, should define the institutions, powers, responsibilities and governance systems of the respective regions while remaining subordinate to the Federal Constitution and fundamental principles of the federation.
The regional leaders also placed strong emphasis on the protection of minorities, warning that regional autonomy must not become a licence for domination or discrimination against minority communities.
“Every Regional Constitution shall contain specific and enforceable protections for minorities and other vulnerable communities within the region including women and children,” the communiqué stated.
The proposed safeguards would include equality before the law, protection of cultural, linguistic and traditional identities, equitable political representation, protection against discrimination and exclusion, access to public services and opportunities, mechanisms for resolving inter-community disputes and judicial remedies for rights violations.
“No community should be required to surrender its fundamental rights as the price of regional autonomy,” the assembly declared.
The leaders also agreed to adopt Articles of Federation to be subscribed to by each federated region as part of the proposed new constitutional order.
They subsequently called on the Federal Government to direct relevant institutions, the National Assembly, civil society organisations, traditional institutions and citizens to commence a national constitutional dialogue specifically aimed at translating the resolutions into a new federal constitutional framework.
According to them, the restructuring process must be peaceful, inclusive, transparent and constitutionally grounded.
The assembly said the proposed system would create a federation in which the regions could develop according to their peculiar circumstances while sharing responsibilities at the centre.
It maintained that the objective was not to weaken Nigeria but to strengthen the country by ensuring that its constituent communities participated freely in determining the structure of governance.
The leaders declared that the pillars of their proposed new federation were autonomous regions, fiscal federalism, limited Federal Government powers, regional security, regional constitutions, minority protection, democratic consent, constitutionalism, justice and equity.
They urged Nigerians to approach the restructuring debate without fear or hostility, stressing that the future of the country depended on the ability of its diverse peoples to negotiate a fairer political arrangement.
The assembly added, “A peaceful and prosperous Federated Regions of Nigeria will emerge from voluntary association of stronger regions when we come together by consent.”
It further urged Nigerians to embrace the process “with courage, reason, mutual respect and a commitment to building a Federation in which every constituent community can confidently say: ‘Federated Regions of Nigeria works for us because Nigeria is structured by our consent.’”