Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, has condemned calls for restructuring by Southern governors.

Lawan told the Southern governors that as elected leaders they ought not to champion such calls but rather concentrate on working hard to first restructure their states before asking the Federal Government to do so.

He made his stand known in an interview with State House correspondents, in Abuja, on Thursday, after observing the Eid-el-Fitr prayers at the forecourt of the Presidential Villa.

He said, “I believe that, as leaders, especially those of us who are elected into office should not be at the forefront of calling for this kind of thing (restructuring).

“Because, even if you are a governor, you are supposed to be working hard in your state to ensure that this restructuring you are calling for at the federal level, you have done it in your state as well.

“What you may accuse the Federal Government of, whatever it is, you may also be accused of the same thing in your state.

“So, we are supposed to ensure that we have a complete and total way of ensuring that our systems at the federal, state and even local government levels work for the people.
“We must allow people to participate in governance so that whoever feels he has something to offer to make Nigeria better does so freely without any let or hindrance.”

The Senate president further said, “The President is reaching out to all the stakeholders. And I believe that as leaders, particularly those of us who were elected at all levels of government, we should avoid partisanship.

“We should avoid regionalism. We are all leaders and we are in this together.

“The solutions to our challenges must come from us regardless of what level of government we are.

“Whether at the federal, state or the local government level.

“I believe that Nigeria is going to come out of these challenges stronger.” He also called for support for the federal government.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, also called for a national spirit of oneness, saying that “If truth be told, we all have equal shares in the blame for what’s happening today.

“Whatever challenges we have, we must all come together to make sure that we resolve these issues we’re facing.”