He said the citizens must use democratic means to reform the federal system and that Nigerians need to recognize that both federalism and democracy are mechanisms for managing diversity.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mallam Abubakar Malami, has said that restructuring Nigeria is a tall order that cannot be achieved through advocacy, emotional outburst or provocative rhetoric and demonstration but through the use of democratic means.
He said to restructure the country, the 1999 Constitution needed to be amended to accommodate referendum.
He said the alternative is amendment to the 1999 Constitution, which must be supported by majority of legislators in 24 states of the Federation as enshrined in section nine of the Constitution.
He was speaking on Tuesday in Abuja at the opening of the Think-Tank Conference on “Federalism and The Challenges of Dynamic Equilibrium in Nigeria: Towards a National Strategy” organised by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS).
“One thing that is certain is the inevitable implication that abolishing states through restructuring process will certainly translate to the eventual multiplier effect of abolishing the state houses of assembly and perhaps downsizing the National Assembly. This indeed is a tall order that cannot be achieved through advocacy, emotional outburst or provocative rhetoric and demonstration,” Malami said.
He said reforms and modifications of institutional arrangements, systems and processes are normal in federations but are not done in single swoop as being advocated in Nigeria, instating that mega changes are not healthy for federations.
He said the citizens must use democratic means to reform the federal system and that Nigerians need to recognize that both federalism and democracy are mechanisms for managing diversity.
