
Nigeria on the precipice, ‘ll soon implode without restructuring -Makarfi warns
By Steve Oko, Umuahia
The immediate past National Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP), Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has warned that unless an urgent step is taken to restructure Nigeria, the country might soon implode.
Makarfi who gave the warning Sunday evening at the PDP state secretariat Umuahia, Abia State said that the only remedy to navigate Nigeria from the brink of collapse is to restructure .
The PDP presidential aspirant who came to canvass support for his ambition said the only way to save Nigeria from imminent implosion is by restructuring.
He warned the leaders of the country against playing politics with restructuring which he said if properly handled, would address the various agitation for self rule by various ethnic nationalities in the country.
His words: ” Nigeria is at the edge of collapse. We must save our country now. We must not allow it to snap. That is why we are clamouring for restructuring”.
The former Governor, however, said “restructuring is not his personal agenda but a collective policy of the PDP” which he strongly believes will help fix Nigeria’s woes.
He said that he headed the Technical Committee that worked out modalities for the report of the 2014 National Confab which also recommended restructuring as the way to move Nigeria forward.
Markarfi regretted that APC which promised Nigerians restructuring in its manifesto soon denied ever making such a promise when it came to power.
He warned that “if we play politics with restructuring, Nigeria won’t survive for too long”.
” If we don’t restructure Nigeria in such a way that the South or the West or even the North feels belonged we will have problems. ”
Makarfi further submitted that no Nigeria leaders would succeed without restructuring.
He also noted that restructuring must be holistic for it to achieve the desired result, emphasising that ” institutional restructuring ” remained paramount for Nigeria to navigate out of the woods.
” We must also talk about institutional restructuring. For example if we fail to restructure our institutions, INEC will sit down and write results and give us bad leaders. So if we fail to restructure our institutions , we are going no where”.
Makarfi promised that if given the opportunity to fly the PDP presidential flag, he would defeat the incumbent President, who according to him has become so unpopular among Nigerians that his party members are now abandoning him.
He also promised to make funds available for Nigerian youths to acquire free tertiary education, and refund same when they get job.
Markarfi said that he had the competence, experience and capacity to lead PDP to victory in 2019 having ” saved the ship if the party from sinking” during its protracted crisis era.
He however said he did not join the presidential race because be was able to lead the party successfully out of its crisis but because he was convinced he had all it takes to defeat the ruling APC and take Nigeria to greater heights.
The former Governor also promised to tackle the security challenges bedeviling the country by reviewing the ECOWAS protocols which allows for free boarder movements among members countries.
In his remarks, PDP Chairman, Abia State, Chief Johnson Onuigbo, described Makarfi as a detribalised Nigerian and ” a man who cannot be easily bought over”.
He also said ” Markarfi is a man who can be trusted ” as he did not betray the party during its crisis period.
Onuigbo also said that the antecedents of Makarfi had shown “he is not a religious bigot”, adding that his he tolerates people with opposing religious views.
” He is a dogged man. This is the man who saved PDP ship from sinking. He is not an apprentice. You can’t entrust your house in the hands of an apprentice. Makarfi is a man that can be trusted”.
End
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