Atiku Abubakar

Former Vice President and Chieftain of All Progressives Congress, Atiku Abubakar said the ongoing debate about  restructuring of Nigeria transcends the ambition of any single politician in the country and that any attempt to ignore the agitations could make a bad situation more complicated.

The former Vice President, in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday by his Media Office, explained that the agitations for secession would not have arisen if the country had shown sincere readiness to address the underlying problems that feed the agitations by separatist forces.

He therefore warned that neglecting the debate won’t solve Nigeria’s problem, adding that with so much hate, distrust, suspicions and fears in the country, political leaders shouldn’t be afraid to confront the challenge.

The former Vice President therefore commended the resolution of the APC Progressive Governors Forum which called for restructuring and true federalism, saying that the issue transcends religion and ethnicity.

He also noted that the convergence of positions around restructuring by leaders and stakeholders from diverse regions of the country is a patriotic move as he noted that it confirms that he (Atiku Abubakar) was not just a lone voice in the wilderness in the inevitability of restructuring of Nigeria for the good of all.

According to him, Nigeria’s  current federal structure should be freely discussed by allowing the federating units voice their grievances with a view to finding workable solutions that protects the rights and interests of all.

He added that the country could not afford to allow bottled up frustrations of the people to explode into violence, which threatens not only innocent lives, but also harms the country’s economic assets.

Atiku therefore, praised the Progressive APC Governors and other leaders and groups for their courage to confront the country’s most urgent national challenge, adding that separatist agitations are dangerously threatening the country’s unity and indivisibility.

According to him, no country could afford to take such threats lightly.