By Opeyemi Adelakun
South-West leaders and the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) have criticised aspects of the restructuring proposal by the Igbo Leaders of Thought (ILT), particularly its call for the suspension of the 2027 general elections.
The disagreement followed the group’s rejection of the communiqué issued after the Abuja restructuring conference of August 20, 2026, which it accused of failing to reflect the position of the Igbo delegation.
The ILT proposed a 10-region political structure, with regional control of resources and regional police. It also called for the restructuring process to be completed before May 2027, with elections conducted afterwards under a new constitutional arrangement.
However, reactions from South-West and northern stakeholders revealed differing views on the proposed model, the future of Nigeria’s 36-state structure and the process required to achieve meaningful constitutional reforms.
Mogaji Gboyega Adejumo, who led the South-West delegation to the Patriots Constitutional Conference in Abuja, described the ILT’s position as unrealistic, arguing that Nigeria’s constituent groups had yet to reach a common understanding of the country’s structural problems.
Adejumo said the South-West’s longstanding demand for restructuring was not fundamentally different from some of the demands being made by the Igbo, but questioned whether the ILT had clearly identified the problems it wanted to resolve.
He recalled previous constitutional initiatives, including the 1953 London Conference and the 2014 National Conference, arguing that successive attempts had failed to produce a lasting settlement.
Adejumo advocated dialogue among Nigeria’s constituent groups, urging the Igbo to build alliances with other nationalities rather than pursue their proposals in isolation. He also questioned the practical route to implementing the group’s demands and warned that separation would not automatically guarantee stability or prosperity.
Afenifere rejects imposed regionalism
Afenifere said it remained committed to the resolutions of the 2014 National Conference, which it said favoured states as federating units and sought to protect minority interests.
Its National Publicity Secretary, Justice Faloye, warned that imposing regions from the federal level could create fresh tensions, particularly in the South-South and North-Central areas, where communities might oppose being assigned to particular regions.
Faloye advocated a bottom-up process that would allow states and communities to determine their preferred political arrangements.
Afenifere Secretary-General, Chief Ademola Folarin, also said the organisation was not part of the Abuja conference and had not changed its position on the 2014 conference resolutions.
He said those recommendations supported the retention of the federal and state structure, with possible additional states to accommodate minorities, alongside the devolution of powers, including policing and mining.
However, Apagun Kole Omololu, convener of the Conscience of Yoruba Nation Group, supported restructuring into autonomous regions, provided the process was voluntary and based on the consent of affected communities.
Omololu said the concerns of minority nationalities must be addressed to prevent regional autonomy from becoming another form of domination.
He urged the ILT to consult communities it wanted included in its proposed Igbo Region, adding that any arrangement should protect their identities, languages, political rights and economic interests.
Civil society warns against democratic vacuum
The National Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership and President of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Debo Adeniran, said the controversy highlighted the absence of consensus on what Nigeria’s restructured federation should look like.
Adeniran said the proposed 10-region structure raised questions about territorial boundaries, community consent and minority rights, which should be addressed through transparent dialogue and, where necessary, referendums.
He described the proposal to suspend the 2027 elections as a particularly consequential issue, warning that any such move would have serious constitutional and democratic implications.
He said restructuring should strengthen democracy rather than create a governance vacuum.
Public analyst and human rights advocate Nelson Ekujimi, however, dismissed the ILT’s position as the opinion of a group without a broader mandate to speak for the country, arguing that its proposals should not be treated as binding on Nigerians.
Yoruba Council Worldwide backs national debate
President of Yoruba Council Worldwide, Aare Sooko Oladotun Hassan, said Nigeria needed a fairer federal arrangement and that the restructuring question should not be abandoned because elections were approaching.
Hassan argued that the ILT’s complaints about its representation at the Abuja conference deserved attention and called for all parties to return to negotiations.
He supported debate on regional resource control and decentralised policing but stressed the need for constitutional safeguards, accountability and protection against political intimidation or ethnic persecution.
On election suspension, Hassan urged caution, saying restructuring and democratic participation should not be treated as mutually exclusive priorities.
He called on the Federal Government, National Assembly, political parties and socio-cultural organisations to establish an inclusive platform for discussing constitutional reforms.
ACF says election suspension is unconstitutional
ACF spokesperson Professor Tukur Baba said the ILT had no constitutional authority to halt elections or dictate the terms of restructuring.
Baba argued that any changes must follow constitutional procedures and be pursued through the National Assembly and state assemblies.
He said the forum had submitted recommendations during the ongoing constitutional review process, including proposals concerning the rights of constituent parts of the federation, but was yet to know which recommendations had been accepted.
Baba urged the ILT to take its proposals to the relevant state assemblies and pursue them through negotiation, consultation and constitutional means.
He said no ethnic or regional group should expect the country’s political process to be suspended to accommodate its demands.
OPC condemns election suspension proposal
The Deputy National Secretary of Oodua People’s Congress Worldwide, Otunba Babatunde Thompson, also criticised the ILT’s proposal, describing the call to suspend the 2027 elections as selfish and insensitive.
Thompson supported resource control and restructuring, arguing that regional governments should manage their resources while contributing to the Federal Government.
He also called for a Sovereign National Conference to produce a constitution reflecting the aspirations of Nigerians.
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