…Says regions must self sufficient and not beg centre for survival
Ohanaeze Ndigbo on Thursday said that the people of the region wanted internal autonomy.
The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Prof George Obiozor, who spoke while presenting the group’s position during the review of the 1999 Constitution hearing in Owerri, Imo State, disclosed that Ndigbo wanted a country of equal opportunities where every federating unit would stand independent without asking for help from the center.
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 and with it characteristics of decentralisation and evolution of power among the federating units.
“Therefore, 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.”
Obiozor, who noted that those denied justice had no interest in peace, urged the lawmakers “to conclude with decisions guided by love and not by hatred; and guided by our collective hopes and not by our fears.”
