Implement 2014 confab report to honour Ayo Adebanjo, Edwin Clark, Bode George tells Tinubu

Bode George, the former deputy national chairman (south) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has asked President Bola Tinubu to implement the 2014 national conference report in honour of the late Ayo Adebanjo and Edwin Clark.

Clark, leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), died on February 12 at 97, while Adebanjo, former factional leader of Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, passed away two days later on February 14 at 96.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Friday, George said the elder statesmen inspired and actively participated in the 2014 national conference convened by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The PDP chieftain said implementing the conference resolutions would be the most meaningful way to immortalise them.

“Mr President, I am appealing to you today, May 2, release the report of the 2014 Confab for the benefit of the people of this country, in the memories of the two old men, to immortalise their names,” he said.

“These people — Adebanjo, Clark and other elder statesmen — are crying to Tinubu to release and implement that report.

“The report was unanimously agreed at the plenary session by the delegates that (implementation) is when we can be at peace.

“When I saw all the work — the contributions of these two elders — and looked at it, they died three days apart. I am not afraid to say we are going to take over from where they started.”

George said he worked closely with both men on a subcommittee that focused on constitutional restructuring.

He described Nigeria’s struggles in economy, politics, and security as urgent due to the current system’s failure to meet expectations.

“It’s not working. It has never worked, and it will never work — I am challenging Mr President, release that report in the memories of these two old men because they contributed the best that God has given them,” he said.

“The constitution we are running is defective. It is so military in its setup. Everything ends with only one man at the Aso Villa as the president.”

He said the most troubling aspect of the 1999 constitution is its centralisation of local government administration.

“What has the local government got to do with the president of Nigeria?” he asked.

“Lagos, the most populated state, has only 20 LGs, and Ogun, which is not even up to half of Lagos, also has 20; Kano has 44, and Jigawa, created out of Kano, has 27 — these are inadequacies.

“Now, every local government collects allocation from the federation account at the end of every month; these were things openly discussed at the conference.”

He said Adebanjo and Clark pushed for a new constitution that would reflect the realities and aspirations of ordinary Nigerians.

“We can have the United States of Nigeria, reduce the power at the centre. We need devolution of power, which the duo advocated before their passing,” the PDP chieftain said.

George added that implementing the report would help address corruption, nepotism, sectionalism and poverty.