Members of the Yoruba Youths Congress (YYC) have kicked against agitations for restructuring of the country, stressing that it is ill-timed.Besides, the group said the National Assembly can legislate on certain issues, especially, resource control to favour the state governments.

The group said those yearning for regional government as a form of restructuring do not have the interest of the country at heart.

National leader of the group, Wale Alake who spoke with reporters in Akure, the state capital, said there are more fundamental issues that needed to be addressed urgently before the issue of restructuring could be considered.

Alake noted that there was need to restructure the minds of our leaders across the country so that the nation would have nationalists and selfless leaders as against regionalist and self-centred ones.

He said instead of conceiving the idea of regionalism, there can be a referendum on some parts of the Constitution to be amended to address economic restructuring.

The YYC national leadership said institutions must also be built and strengthened so as to be alive to their responsibilities.

His words: “We believe that there is no challenge we face as a nation currently that cannot be overcome if various institutions of government are strengthened to work at optimum level.

“Advocates of restructuring complain of marginalisation in government appointments in various agencies. There’s an agency of government to take care of such. If it were alive to its responsibilities, such lop-sidedness would have been corrected.

“If the Code of Conduct Bureau was alive to its responsibilities, corruption would have been made unattractive and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would have had lesser jobs to do.”

He accused some elite and the ruling class of being behind the clamour for restructuring, saying it is not for the benefit of the masses.

He said: “The loudest advocate of restructuring are the manipulative elite and ruling class who manipulate the narrative to suit their selfish and parochial interests.

“I have not seen or heard any one of them elucidating on how restructuring would benefit the suffering masses who, on daily basis, are confronted with various problems ranging from hunger to lack of basic needs of life.

“This group of people go as far as cajoling the masses to take position that are even detrimental to their own well-being.

“If Nigeria is restructured, are we going to bring people from the Mars to run the system? Isn’t it the same ruling class that has almost ‘knocked” the engine of the vehicle of the present structure that will hold sway at the regional level?”

The group said if the agitations for restructuring are not curtailed, it might lead to unconscious gravitation towards secession.

It said the National Assembly is in the best position to address any issue of socio-economic, political and any seemingly structural imbalances.

Thenationonlineng