By Nathaniel Zaccheaus, Abuja
Regional leaders and concerned citizens from across Nigeria have demanded a fundamental restructuring of the country, proposing the creation of 17 autonomous federated regions and a National Rebirth Commission to drive the transition to a new constitutional order.
The demand followed a three-day meeting of the Concerned Citizens Assembly, led by Deacon Owolabi Oladejo, which ended on Tuesday at the NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja. The group said Nigeria’s highly centralised federal structure had become inadequate for addressing the country’s political, economic and security challenges.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the assembly described restructuring as a “national survival strategy” and called for a constitutional process to transfer substantial powers and resources to the proposed regions while retaining Nigeria as a single sovereign nation.
The proposed National Rebirth Commission, according to the group, would coordinate negotiations between the Federal Government and the proposed regions, resolve territorial disputes, facilitate the drafting of federal and regional constitutional instruments and oversee the transition to fiscal federalism and regional security arrangements.
It would also organise referendums in cases where territorial disputes could not be resolved through negotiation and establish a Truth, Reconciliation, Unity and Equity Department.
The proposed 17 regions are Akwa Ibom, Ane Igala, Apa-Agba, Bendel, Caliphate, Cross River, Gurara, Hausa, Igbo, Ijaw, Kanem, Lower Benue, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Savannah and Yoruba.
The assembly said the proposal followed the splitting of the Plateau-Gurara arrangement into separate Plateau and Gurara regions, as well as the approval of the Apa-Agba application.
It, however, said that boundaries and the allocation of communities must be determined through consent, territorial contiguity, economic viability, cultural affinity, constitutional considerations, and the protection of citizens’ rights.
“Outstanding questions shall not be determined by emotion, historical grievance, numerical strength or political pressure,” the communiqué stated.
Where negotiations over disputed territories fail, the group proposed referendums, saying communities directly affected should determine their political future.
At the heart of the proposed restructuring is a radical overhaul of Nigeria’s fiscal system.
The assembly proposed that each region should retain 80 per cent of revenues generated within its territory and remit the remaining 20 per cent to the Federal Government.
It argued that such an arrangement would promote competition among regions, stimulate investment, encourage productivity and strengthen accountability in the management of public resources.
The proposal also seeks the abolition of the concurrent legislative list, with all powers not expressly assigned to the Federal Government reverting to the regions.
Under the proposed arrangement, the Federal Government would retain responsibility for foreign affairs, customs, immigration, currency, the national economy, the Central Bank, national defence and external security.
The assembly also demanded constitutional authority for the regions to establish and operate their own police forces, while national defence and territorial integrity would remain under federal control.
“Regions shall have full responsibility for regional policing and internal public safety, subject to the Federal Constitution,” it stated.
Each region, it proposed, would also have its own constitution defining its institutions, powers and responsibilities, while remaining subordinate to the Federal Constitution.
The group stressed that regional autonomy must not be used to suppress minorities, proposing constitutional safeguards for political representation, cultural and linguistic identities, access to public services and judicial remedies against discrimination.
“No community should be required to surrender its fundamental rights as the price of regional autonomy,” it said.
Despite the sweeping proposals, the assembly insisted that its agenda aimed to strengthen rather than dismantle Nigeria.
“Restructuring is not a programme for the disintegration of Nigeria,” it declared.
It called for a national constitutional dialogue involving the Federal Government, the National Assembly, civil society, traditional institutions, and citizens, insisting that democratic consent, rather than elite negotiations, must drive the process.
The assembly said autonomous regions, fiscal federalism, limited federal powers, regional policing, regional constitutions, minority protection and constitutional justice should form the foundation of a restructured Nigerian federation.
