SPEAKERS of Southern States Legislatures, at the weekend, threw their weight behind the Southern Governors’ resolutions, saying they are not just sacrosanct but will guarantee justice, fairness and equity in the country.
Recall that Southern Governors last week in Asaba, met and came up with a communique banning open grazing of cattle, called for a national dialogue, restructuring of the country and respect for the Federal Character.
The Speakers, in a resolution after their meeting at the weekend, commended the Southern Governors for coming together to speak with one voice.
The Speakers’ resolution was signed by Chief Sheriff F.O Oborevwori; Deputy National Chairman, Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, Mr Aniekan Bassey; Vice-Chairman South-South, Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, Francis O.Nwifuru; Vice-chairman South East, Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria and Prince Olakunle Taiwo Oluomo, Vice Chairman South West, Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria.
They insisted that the resolutions of the Southern Governors were pathways to resolving the plethora of problems facing the country.
“We, the Speakers of State Legislatures in Southern Nigeria, commended the governors of the Southern states for their patriotism and firm belief in the unity of the country.
“We salute the governors for their initiative and restate our support for the positions of the governors.
“We wish to state unequivocally that the issues canvassed in the communique are neither new nor strange, rather they require a swift response from the Federal Government.
“The country is currently undergoing very challenging times and requires bold and audacious measures to stop it from sliding into the abyss.
“We maintain that the positions of the governors as contained in the communique issued on the 11th of May, 2021 in Asaba are sacrosanct and a guarantee for justice, fairness and equity in the country,” they noted.
The forum of speakers further reiterated called for the swift restructuring of the country to reflect fiscal federalism through a national dialogue.
“We adopt all the positions in the communique and reiterated the call for the ban on open grazing of cattle in the South.
“We support the call for the restructuring of the country to enthrone true federalism and therefore the convocation of a National Dialogue is inevitable.
“That this will afford stakeholders from all parts of the country to table their prejudices and together work out a sustainable relationship as one indivisible country.
“We pledge to deploy our legislative powers to strengthen the positions canvassed by the Governors,” they enthused.
The speakers, who thanked Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, the Governor of Delta State for providing the platform for the meeting of the Governors, however, urged the governors to go beyond rhetorics by sending bills to the legislature as regards their resolutions.
“We also urge the governors to send bills to the Legislature where necessary to address some of the issues in the communique,” they urged.