Elder statesman Edwin Clark has written to President Bola Tinubu, urging the implementation of the 2014 National Conference report and calling for an immediate restructuring of Nigeria.
In the letter dated June 13 and made available to journalists, Clark emphasized the urgency of restructuring Nigeria to ensure the nation’s unity. “Now that the elections are over, we must face the restructuring of this country,” stated the leader of the Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders’ Forum.
“I repeat, the immediate restructuring of Nigeria must be carried out if this country is to remain one,” Clark continued. “I appeal to Mr. President to take immediate action to implement the historic 2014 National Conference Report, which submitted 600 recommendations to the Presidency on how to restructure Nigeria in every aspect of our lives.”
Clark also addressed the situation of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who has been in custody since 2021. He urged President Tinubu to seek a political solution for Kanu, similar to how the Federal Government withdrew the terrorism charges against Bello Bodejo, President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore.
In his letter, Clark accused former President Muhammadu Buhari of marginalizing the Igbos from the South-Eastern part of Nigeria. He alleged that the Buhari administration excluded the South-East from key appointments during his tenure.
According to Clark, the “discrimination and injustice” against the Igbo community has continued under Tinubu’s administration. He pointed out that while Tinubu appointed ten ministers from the South-West, only six have been appointed from the South-East.
“President Buhari did everything to subjugate the Igbos for reasons best known to him. Perhaps it may be necessary to cite some examples; the NNPC board he constituted had nine members, with only one from the South-West, one from the South-South, and none from the South-East, despite three South-East states—Abia, Anambra, and Imo—being oil-producing states. The remaining members, including his Chief of Staff, came from the North, a non-oil-producing region.”
Clark further criticized the current administration, stating, “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 ten Yorubas as ministers from the South-West and only five ministers from the South-East, failing to give them the ministerial appointment due to their region that would have made it six. There is no justification for this grave omission, and no effort has been made to correct it.”
