Ganduje says assigning constitutional roles would prevent unnecessary clashes between governors and their deputies.
Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has called for specific constitutional roles for deputy governors in Nigeria to keep them busy.
Ganduje said this at an annual conference of the Forum of Former Deputy Governors of Nigeria (FFDGN) with the theme, Partnering in the shared vision for good governance and sustainable development, in Abuja.
Ganduje, represented by Emma Eneukwu, the APC Deputy National Chairman, South, said assigning constitutional roles would prevent unnecessary clashes between governors and their deputies.
“I am happy that you the deputy governors, have decided to come together and form yourself into a forum and embark on this advocacy. As you create awareness, as you meet people and talk to leaders of our country, there is a need to constitutionally give roles to the deputy governors,” he said.
Also speaking former Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi, advised political leaders to be guided by patriotism in all their endeavors. He said nothing was wrong with the Nigerian constitution, but the inability to observe it.
“There are some of us who feel that the constitution is an invalid document, it is illegitimate, it is a product of the military. Even if it is a broken-down vehicle it is the vehicle.
“It is a good constitution; there is nothing wrong with it. However good a constitution is, it is not a self-executing document, it doesn’t enforce itself. It requires good people to enforce it. Of course, it is not intended to be a perfect document, but this nation must begin to respect the Constitution.
“We must begin to respect the nation’s history and not go on describing it as an artificial creation. As we hear so many people doing. There is no nation that is not artificial. All nations are artificial,” he said.
Agabi, who was the chairman of the occasion, appealed to the Federal Government to make the nation self-reliant, tackle corrupt people, and release dissidents in prison to allow them to contribute their quota to national development.
“I appeal to the federal government to release all those dissidents who are in detention so that they can come out to unite the state and move it forward. I am not afraid of those dissidents, bring them over, release them, and let them recognize that we can teach them unity and peace.
“For ever since we became an independent nation, we have been living in peace,” he said.
Agabi also urged Nigerians to come together and be united as a country.
“Once a nation adopts a presidential system of government, unity is not optional.”
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, also appealed to the governors to find it expedient to delegate some relevant and key roles to their deputies.
Akume, represented by a Director in the SGF office, Simon Tyungu, said such would give them a sense of belonging.
“Nigeria is presently facing a lot of very demanding challenges and this is because the effect of governance is not being felt by the majority of Nigerians as should be.
“To this end, I want to use this platform to advocate for a shared national vision between the federal government, state government, and local government to be implemented within four years.
“This will be in the form of the three tiers agreeing on very critical projects, that is the food and development center,” he said.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara and the Chairman, of Nigeria Governors’ Forum
