Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, said the region has set up a committee on restructuring and the role of traditional rulers towards resolving the insecurity challenges in the country.

He advised that discussion on the review of the 1999 Constitution should be within the context of unity, stability, peace and progress of Nigeria.

He said: ”Of course, the much talked about issue of restructuring is also very much canvassed by different interests. This is the time to thoroughly deal with the matter and ensure that the agitations and anxieties being expressed are addressed.

“As Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, to say that we have since set up committees on restructuring, role of traditional rulers, engagement with the youths and even economic reforms of the region. The reports of these committees will also be submitted to the Constitutional Review Committee for consideration.

“We have to conduct the discussion on the review of the 1999 constitution within the context of the unity, stability, peace and progress of the country. We should have an open mind to every submission, we should also not be ignorant of the desire by some internal or external forces to destabilise our nation by pushing their interests, under the guise of promoting constitutional review.

“We have to realise that there is no constitution that will ever resolve all our challenges as a people who are diverse in ethnic, religious, political and tribal affiliations.”

Lalong said issues of state police should be given top priority in view of the insecurity in the country, adding that his administration has gone far with the implementation of autonomy for the Judiciary, Legislature, and the Local Governments, even before the commencement of the strike by judiciary and legislative workers.

Meanwhile, a group of women from Plateau, Nasarawa and Benue States, under the umbrella of Women Political Participation Technical Working Group (WPP-TWG), have advocated for the creation of 37 more Senatorial seats in the country, that would be exclusively be occupied by women.

The group, which submitted a memorandum to the Senate Committee for the review of the 1999 constitution at the North Central public hearing in Jos, supported the proposed amendment of the constitution and called for a special consideration for women in governance.

Spokesperson of the group, Mrs Jiritmwa Morgak Goyit, who addressed journalists in Jos, after the submission, yesterday, said Nigerian women should also be honoured with the 35 percent affirmative action.

She appealed that the Constitution should kick against same sex running for a position that has deputy so that a man should either be Chairman and a woman serve as Deputy or vice versa, to promote gender equality.

She believed that the temporary but necessary positive measures would enhance inclusive governance that women earnestly yearn for.

Meanwhile, the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo worldwide, led by its President General, Ambassador Professor George A. Obiozor, yesterday, renewed the demands for restructuring, devolution of power and true

federalism as panacea for the crisis bedevilling the nation.

He made the submission in Owerri at the Abia/Imo public hearing for the amendment of the 1999 constitution chaired by the former governor of Abia State and Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.

He said: “Fundamentally, what Ndigbo really want is some form of internal autonomy, based on a Restructured Nigeria,

“We (Ndigbo) are of the view that the federation of Nigeria must be a union of equals and the composite units must have the ability to stand without begging the centre for survival.

“That is a federal system of government with its characteristics of decentralisation and devolution of power among the federating units.

“In the context of the imperatives and urgency of restructuring Nigeria, we should focus on getting the right things done for the right reasons, and at the right levels of government.

“Indeed, what must be done and no longer what to do, is to recognise that history has an iron law of seriality of which no country, including Nigeria, can ask for exemption or exceptionalism.

“All signs of national tragedies foretold are present, today, in full force in Nigeria. In fact, it would require a restructured Nigeria to contain the present forces and tendencies towards a synchronised national crisis and even a possibility of national disintegration.

Urging leaders in the country to confront the nation’s realities and challenges, Obiozor said the nation’s political crisis stemed from injustice, inequity and lack of fairness.

He said: “Therefore, as national leaders, we must learn the lessons of history that in societies here, truth comes last, tragedy comes first. And that the perennial problem or continuous dilemma in Nigerian politics always evolve around the issues of justice, equity and fairness. As has been said several times, throughout history, those denied justice have had no interest in peace.

“We would expect you at the end of this exercise, and in the interest of the nation, its unity and progress, to conclude with decisions guided by love and not by hatred; and guided by our collective hope and not by our fears.

In his concluding remark the Southest Zonal Chairman of the public hearing, Senator Orji Kalu, reiterated the commitment of the Senate to address the submissions made by various groups at the two-day exercise. He appealed for calm among from various agitating groups, saying that the National Assembly would expedite action on their demands for befitting amended constitution.