The Second Vice President of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Monday Ubani has taken a swipe at President Muhammadu Buhari over his New Year Speech. Ubani said the President appears to be mistaking restructuring for a return to Parliamentary system of government.
Ubani in a statement released to newsmen said an aspect of restructuring that the people are agitating for was the devolution of power from the Federal Government to states.
“Maybe he misunderstood what restructuring really means. The restructuring we’re talking about is removing most of the things being handled by the Federal Government. Let them be decentralized. States should share some of these duties in order to ensure good governance, proper structure and a well-run federation.
“Every other thing he said is very inspiring and I’m very happy that the government is making some level of progress, such as in agriculture and stabilising the naira.
“A lot of things he said really inspires hope, especially in the development of basic infrastructure. He mentioned the railways, electricity, and other key infrastructure suffering some level of deficiency.
“Those are important in restarting the economy, especially power. So I urge him to match his words with action,” he added.
Recall that the President in his speech had said “We tried the Parliamentary system: we jettisoned it. Now there are shrill cries for a return to the Parliamentary structure. In older democracies these systems took centuries to evolve so we cannot expect a copied system to fit neatly our purposes. We must give a long period of trial and improvement before the system we have adopted is anywhere near fit for purpose.”
