The Oodua Peoples Congress has accused President Buhari of being insensitive to the plights of Nigerians, saying the sudden increase in the electricity tarrif is brutish and inhuman, describing it as an attempt to fuel national crisis.
The group also restated its support and commitment to true federalism on the basis of regionalism, adding that Nigeria cannot make any meaningful progress with the 1999 Constitution, which it described as a democratic albatross.
At a marathon meeting of the leadership and National Coordinating Council of the group in Lagos, the OPC, led by its National Coordinator and Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams, in a statement signed by the National General Secretary and Publicity Secretary, Babajide Tanimoowo and Yinka Oguntimehin, said the call for true federalism became imperative given the present situation in the country.
It said: “OPC is concerned about the state of the nation.We are worried about the current political structure. We are also worried about the present state of the economy. We are particularly worried about the security situation in the country.
“For instance, how do we explain the fact that in the first week of the new year, the Federal Government came up with a sudden increase in the electricity tariffs, it is sad and brutish. FG can no longer save the situation from degenerating further.
“We urged the Federal Government to urgently overhaul the security architectures in the country in order to guarantee adequate security in the country. All the service chiefs have overstayed their tenure. It is evident that the service chiefs have nothing new to offer considering the nature of the various security challenges confronting the country, so there’s no doubt that the Federal Government must heed the advice of prominent people and overhaul the nation’s security architectures.”
The NCC while urging Nigerians to be tolerant and peaceful in the face of the various challenges, said Nigeria is a secular nation, but there is the urgent need for peaceful coexistence among the religious faithful.
It stated further that the group will join the office of the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland to celebrate the Maolid Nabiy festival in February to commemorate the birth of Prophet Muhammed (SAW) as it had done with the Christmas Carol organised last year by the office.
It said: “OPC will continue to preach peace and religious tolerance across the country. We need to change the old narratives by insisting that religion has the potentials to unite us as a people, but sadly the same religion has now become the reason for our division.”
The OPC also advised all the South West governors to rededicate themselves to the struggle to tackle the security challenges in the region, using the region’s security Network, Amotekun.
The group also called on the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and his Lagos State counterpart, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to emulate other states in the region by fast tracking the recruitments in their respective states, even as it warned all criminal elements, including marauders and herdsmen, to stay away from the region or face the wrath of the group.
The OPC also expressed its readiness to support the governors and the Amotekun Corps in their quest to reduce the spate of insecurity across the region.
“We will not condone lawlessness in the region, we also enjoined the South West governors to synergise and give Amotekun the needed support to operate effectively across the South Eest,” the group said.
