Some leaders of the Yoruba ethnic group have urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to with immediate effect, suspend the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
Those who addressed a press conference in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital Wednesday evening also called for the suspension of the 1999 constitution.
The spokesman of the group under the auspices of the Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self-Determination, (NINAS), Professor Banji Akintoye, noted that the call was necessary because Nigeria cannot progress under the current political structure.
Akintoye noted that the 1999 constitution was the cause of major problems the country was currently facing.
He said that the group was giving the federal government another 30-day ultimatum after the expiration of the 90-Day Notice of Grave Constitutional Grievances issued by NINAS to the Federal Government of Nigeria on December 16, 2020.
Akintoye, who addressed journalists on behalf of the group, insisted that the 1999 constitution was no doubt collateral damage to the people of Nigeria, hence, the need for its suspension and suspension of future elections.
He also warned international money lenders not to lend Nigeria any money because Nigeria was now a disputed project.
Akintoye said,
“A formal announcement by the Federal Government of Nigeria acknowledging the Constitutional Grievances and Sovereignty Dispute now declared by the peoples of South and Middle-Belt of Nigeria.
“A Formal Commitment by Federal Government of Nigeria to the wholesale Decommissioning and Jettisoning of the 1999 Constitution as the Basis of the Federation of Nigeria as was done by the Government of Apartheid-Era South Africa in 1990, to commence the process by which the Apartheid Constitution of the then South Africa was eased out.
“A Formal Announcement by the Federal Government of Nigeria suspending further General Elections under the Disputed 1999 Constitution since winners of such Elections will Swear to, and Govern by that Constitution.
“A Formal Invitation to the Peoples of the South and Middle-Belt of Nigeria to work out and emplace a Transitional Authority, which shall specify the Modalities for the Transitioning Process including the Composition and Mandate of the Transitional Authority as well as the Time-frame for the Transitioning and other Ancillary Matters.
“A Formal Initiation of a Time-Bound Transitioning Process to midwife the emergence of Fresh Constitutional Protocols by a Two-Stage Process in which the Constituent Regional Blocs will at the first stage, Distill and Ratify their various Constitutions by Referendums and Plebiscites and in the second stage, Negotiate the Terms of Federating afresh as may be dictated by the outcomes of Referendum and Plebiscites.
“Let it be known to all, including International Money Lenders, that Nigeria is now a Disputed Project and that while the Constituent Components commit to honouring existing International Debt Obligations.
“We caution that whatever Obligations that may arise from any Foreign Loans contracted by the Federal Government of Nigeria from the date of this Proclamation may come into controversy. Similarly, all Loans contracted by the Federal Government of Nigeria, containing any Clause that may Cede the Sovereignty of Nigeria or any part thereof in the event of Repayment Default shall be disputed as illicit, and in breach of the Sovereignty of the Federating Units.”
