El-Rufai did not indict national assembly on true federalism, says aide

Muyiwa Adekeye, special adviser to Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, says his principal did not accuse the national assembly of not acting on the report of the All Progressives Congress (APC) committee on true federalism.

At the 50th anniversary celebration of Arewa House on Saturday, el-Rufai had insisted that it is time to restructure the country in line with the 2018 recommendations of the APC committee on restructuring.

“The report of our APC true federalism committee puts in one place the recommendations, and the legislative amendments to give life to a restructured polity. I therefore call on our federal legislators and the national assembly ad hoc committee on constitutional review to take advantage of our report and initiate the constitutional and legislative amendments in either a piece-meal or comprehensive manner without further delay,” el-Rufai had said.

Adekeye, however, clarified el-Rufai’s position in a statement issued on Monday in reaction to comments credited to Ajibola Bashiru, spokesman of the senate.

According to the statement, Bashiru reportedly said el-Rufai had no idea of the workings of the national assembly, which was why he accused the lawmakers of not acting on the APC report.

“How can this public appeal for urgent action prompt the sort of diatribe attributed to the Senator in the newspaper report?” Adekeye queried.

‘’The comments do not show that the person has read Malam El-Rufai’s speech, except if the person quoted is suffering from the crisis of comprehension that has become sadly endemic in our country.

“The unnecessary defensiveness to an allegation that was never made against the National Assembly cannot be deemed as distinguished conduct. Neither can the attempt to portray the report of a party committee on which several governors sat as that of the individual who had the privilege of chairing it.”

According to the media aide, the governor only appealed to federal legislators to “initiate the necessary constitutional amendments to secure restructuring, using the draft bills that are contained in the report of the committee”.

‘’Notwithstanding the comments attributed to the spokesman of the Senate, Malam El-Rufai believes that the entire National Assembly will play a positive role in helping our country meet the urgent demands of the moment,” Adekeye added.

“These times call for responsibility, not for a flourish of ego; for sobriety and utter focus on what is significant and consequential for the future of our country.”