Eniola Akinkuotu
The Chairman of the defunct Presidential
Advisory Committee on the National Conference, Senator Femi Okurounmu,
says the pro-Biafran agitations probably started due to the failure of
the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to implement the
resolutions of the National Conference.
He told our correspondent during an
interview on Wednesday that the conference endorsed fiscal autonomy and
the devolution of powers from the centre to the federating states.
Okurounmu, however, noted that Buhari’s
body language, including his penchant for making too many northern
appointments, had made some other parts of the country, especially the
South-East, feel unwanted.
He, therefore, urged the President to have a rethink on the issue.
He said, “The National Conference had
foreseen this agitation and that was why we agreed that there would be
certain autonomy of the federating units.
“The problems of Nigeria lie on the
issues of devolution of power and that of resource allocation. These
were the problems that we set out to address but President Buhari threw
away these resolutions.
“He is giving most of the appointments
to the North; the same people who fought against resource control.
Eighty per cent of his appointees – who are not ministers – are from the
North. Why wouldn’t other parts of the country feel left out?”
When asked to comment on Buhari’s
ministerial appointments which favoured the South-West, Okurounmu said
the appointments could be a trap.
He said Buhari had not achieved anything remarkable in his six months in office.
Okurounmu, who represented Ogun-Central
senatorial district between 1999 and 2003, said the President had failed
to impress Nigerians.
He noted that Buhari, who received
widespread support on his promise to fight corruption, had failed to
effectively tackle the menace.
The ex-lawmaker said even ardent
supporters of the All Progressives Congress were beginning to regret
campaigning for Buhari as the problems of fuel scarcity, power failure
and insecurity have worsened.
He said, “As you would have observed,
there is fuel scarcity and electricity supply is poor. I did not support
Buhari so I am not disappointed in him. Even some of his biggest
supporters are disappointed but shame will not allow them to admit it.
Nigerians are disillusioned with this administration that has achieved
nothing in six months.
“He promised to fight corruption but we
have not seen anything in the last six months. During his visit to Iran,
he said some of those that looted the treasury are already returning
the stolen money. Is that how to fight corruption? Is there no
punishment for corruption anymore? How does one determine how much was
stolen without a proper investigation and judicial processes?
“He has surrounded himself with people like Rotimi Amaechi who have been accused of corruption.”
The former lawmaker said in six months, the Chibok girls had not been found but Nigerians seemed to have forgotten about them.
Okurounmu explained that at the tail end
of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Nigeria was
winning the war against terrorism. He, however, lamented that Buhari’s
administration had seen an increase in the activities of terrorists.
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