Restructuring will not balkanise Nigeria –Prof. Katchy

The president of National Complementary and Alternative Medicine Association (NACAMA), Nigeria, Prof. Peter Emeka Katchy, has allayed the fears of those afraid of restructuring that it will tear Nigeria apart or into pieces.

Speaking in an interview in Onitsha, Prof. Katchy said restructuring does not in any way imply the balkanisation of Nigeria as some might have understood it.

He said Nigeria has started practicing restructuring with the creation of six geo-political zones in the country during the military regime of late Gen. Sani Abacha.

The NACAMA president also advocated the creation of six Deputy Presidents to oversee the zones, explaining that restructuring does not amount to abolition of states and local Governments, since it does not need referendum, plebiscite or constitutional amendment and suggested that the 36 states of the federation should work within the ambience of the geo-political zones.

He said it was unfortunate that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and some other Nigerians were misled to understand restructuring as tearing Nigeria apart.
Katchy then explained restructuring as “political administrative dispensation or framework which will encourage productivity and reduce dependence on oil revenue as most of the State Governments are redundant because of lack of responsibilities and misuse of funds and revenue allocations meant for salaries of workers and for the development of their respective states.

He continued: “All the states can task themselves to generate revenue and improve their economy via the encouragement of Deputy Presidents through the six geo-political zones which will also enhance statutory supervision of the states through the respective zones.
“The Deputy Presidents are nexus to the President. The constitution would be intact. The revenue sharing formula would be retained. The deputy presidents in addition to other functions would supervise ecological funds and other revenue from the Federal Government.

He called for scrapping of National and State Assembles as full time job, stating that they should be part time legislators, sitting twice a week since they are not doing anything except guzzling the resources of Nigeria.

Katchy also called for the abolition of the constituency projects by the legislators both at the National and State Assemblies, since they cannot make laws and execute them at the same time, saying that some of the projects were abandoned half way, some were poorly executed, while they cart away the citizens’ money.