ELDER statesman Edwin Clark has penned a letter to President Bola Tinubu, calling for the implementation of the 2014 national conference report.
This was revealed in a letter dated 13th June and shared with journalists.
Clark emphasized the necessity of promptly restructuring Nigeria if the country is to remain united.
“Now that the elections are concluded, the priority should be the restructuring of our country,” stated the leader of the Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders Forum.
“I reiterate that immediate restructuring is vital for Nigeria’s unity, and I urge Mr. President to take prompt action in adopting the comprehensive 2014 National Conference Report, which outlined 600 recommendations for restructuring Nigeria across various aspects of our societal structure.”
Additionally, the elder statesman addressed the situation of Nnamdi Kanu, the embattled leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who has been in detention since 2021.
Clark urged the President to seek a political resolution for Kanu, akin to how the Federal Government retracted the terrorism charges against the detained President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Bodejo.
The leader of the Ijaw Nation also highlighted the perceived marginalization of Igbos from the South-East by former President Muhammadu Buhari, alleging deliberate exclusion from key appointments during Buhari’s tenure.
“President Buhari did everything to subjugate the Igbos for reason best known to him. Perhaps it may be necessary to cite some examples; the NNPC board which he constituted when he came into office had 9 members, 1 from the South-West, 1 from South-South, and no member from the South-East, even though 3 South-East states; Abia, Anambra and Imo are oil producing states; the remaining members including his Chief of State came from the North, a non-oil producing region.
According to Clark, the discrimination against the Igbo community persists under Tinubu’s administration, noting apparent disparities in ministerial appointments between the South-West and the South-East.
He criticized the imbalance in ministerial representation, citing examples to support his argument and urging corrective action to rectify the situation.
“Mr President, even in your administration, the discrimination and injustice against the Igbos has not abated. The old Eastern Region and the old Western Region, to which I belonged, were equal competitors and partners before and during the First and Second Republic but today, you have appointed 10 Yorubas as Ministers from the South-West, and only five (5) Ministers from the South-East, and you even failed to give them the ministerial appointment due to their region that would have made it six (6) Ministers. There is no justification for this grave omission and no effort has been made to correct it,” he added.
