Oyegun says Nigeria is running a ‘bastardised’ federal structure

John Oyegun, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says the country is running a bastardised federal structure.

Oyegun said this on Wednesday at a public presentation of the party’s report on true federalism.

The chairman said the country’s federal structure is more like a unitary system of government.

“This is going to be the beginning of a historic event for this nation. It is historic because we have not been at this point before,” Oyegun said.

“We have held series of conferences before on how to restructure this country and each time, we always end up with nothing

“Today, we have moved from showpiece of these conferences to the beginning of a new Nigeria. Today, we are going to be partners to the construction of the basic fundamental foundation of where this country truly belongs.

“There is no doubt at all that where we were and where we are today is basically a bastardized kind of federal structure, more like a unitary system. What we are going to present to the nation today are the considered views of the critical mass of this nation who participated strongly in the results that is being presented today.

“When the issue of restructuring cropped into the public domain last year, the main reason being one more issue with which to trash the Buhari administration. At that point, it was clear that this nation was facing a major issue that needed to be straightened out and we need to find a new reality.

“For president Buhari, the reality was the economic well-being of this nation based in the strength of our people and what we can produce and based on the productivity of Nigerians themselves.”