Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has refuted media report linking him to a statement that those agitating for restructuring were political jobbers.
Mr Laolu Akande, the acting president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, stated this in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, and said that Chief Ayo Adebanjo reportedly connected the acting president to the assertion.
The presidential spokesman stated that at no time did the acting president say that those asking for restructuring were political jobbers looking for appointments.
He said: “The video, audio tapes and full text of his speech at the National Security summit organised last week by the Department of State Services (DSS) are publicly available.
“While several newspapers and media outlets reported Osinbajo’s speech last Wednesday, not one of the publications made such a blatantly inaccurate claim that he said those asking for restructuring were political jobbers.
“Besides, the debate on restructuring is an important one and the calls for restructuring cover a wide range of legitimate and constitutionally valid issues.’’
According to the presidential aide, all Nigerians have both a right and a duty to advance their arguments on whether Nigeria should be restructured or not.
Akande recalled that the acting president had once expressed support for State Police based on the community policing model, advocated for devolution of powers to the States and fiscal federalism.
“Besides, the Buhari administration has been active in supporting State rights in several ways, including in fiscal matters and will continue to do so,’’ he added. (NAN)
SYC/OPI/OPI