Constitution Review: Proposal for regional govt not before us – Senate Leader

The Senate Leader said he is not working against the Yoruba nation as alleged by some persons.

The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, has said there is currently no proposal on returning to the regional government before the 10th Senate Committee on Constitution Review.

Mr Bamidele, the deputy chairman of the committee, said this in a statement by his media office in Abuja on Wednesday.

The clarification comes amidst reports that the senate leader was against the call for a regional system of government during the committee’s retreat in Kano.

Some people had described the alleged opposition to regionalism as an attempt to move against the Yoruba ethnic group.

Mr Bamidele, a Yoruba, said he never spoke about the regional system of government and did not recommend that the committee should ignore it in the constitution review process.

“The claim is far from the truth. I never spoke about the return to the regional government at any forum; neither did I make a claim that ‘If we allow the regional system in Nigeria, we would have automatically given the easterners Biafra.’

“It is a sheer case of misinformation and deliberate fake news, which do not in any way represent my worldview about federal governance structure,” Mr Bamidele said.

Legal action

The senate leader also threatened to sue anybody or a group of people claiming that he is canvassing against the return of the regional system of government.

“How, then, can I oppose the proposal that is not currently before the Constitution Review Committee? I believe this statement is politically motivated to discredit me before Nigeria as a whole.

“Already, the 10th Senate Constitution Review Committee has received 37 fresh constitution alteration bills. The Committee is also considering 16 constitution alteration bills inherited from the 9th National Assembly, making 53 alteration bills altogether.

“None of these alteration bills proposed the return to the regional federal governance structure as practised in the First Republic. Linking me to an anti-regional government is a deliberate attempt to tarnish my image. I am not working against the interest of the Yoruba. I will never do so for any reason,” he said.