By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.
IGALA Cultural and Development Association (ICDA), the apex Igala socio-cultural group, has declared support for the call by the Coalition of Indigenous Middle Belt Organisations (CIMO) for the restructuring and enactment of the Peoples Constitution for Nigeria.
Surgeon Commodore Ahmed Abdullahi Rtd, National President of ICDA, who disclosed this in an interview with newsmen at the end of the maiden conference of CIMO in Kaduna said ICDA shares common objective of being a voice for the people of the middle belt of Nigeria.
The ICDA President who attended the conference with the association’s Secretary-General, Alhaji Rufai Yahaya, said said the association had decided to join forces with CIMO in line with its stance on equity, fairness and justice.
Abdullahi said the conference themed: “Restructuring and Enactment of the Peoples Constitution: Panacea to Peace and Good Growth of the nation” could not have come at a better time than now.
“The country is going through social, economic and security challenges” emphasizing the dire need to seek pathways for peace and development of the nation.
According to him, ICDA fully supports the views canvassed at the summit and urged the Federal Government to scale up the process that will fast tract restructuring and enactment of a people-oriented constitution in line with recommendations of the 2014 National Constitution Conference.
He commended the organisers of the conference for their ingenuity in bringing together people of indigenous Middle belt to discuss and proffer solutions to their age-long challenges.
The National President added that ICDA and her affiliate associations lend their support for the progress and growth of the CIMO which is aimed at unifying the people of Middle Belt to wrestle for what belong to them from the Nigeria Federation.
“The call for restructuring of the country is more pressing now than ever, primarily due to the significant growth and diversity of the ethnic composition of the Middle Belt, whose population is estimated at 44 million as at June, 2024.
“The Middlebelt has since independence been seen and called part of Northern Nigeria
with the split of many ethnic nationalities into states as minorities.
“This has weakened
the ability of such ethnic nationalities in achieving political representation and economic empowerment and development with the consequent tendency to create inferiority complex, and creation of second-class status and “Peasantization of the people”.
These, he said, comes “as a result of laws and statues that tend to limit and imprison the capacity of citizens of such ethnic nationalities from achieving set goals and aspirations.”
Meanwhile, the President of CIMO, Timothy Barau Gandu, Commended ICDA for her quick response to the summit and the invaluable contributions which have enriched the coalition for a just society.
Gandu specifically praised the ICDA president for attending the summit with his Secretary and urged him never to relent on issues that affect the Unity , growth and development of the region.
Recall that the conference drew participants from ethnic nationalities in Adamawa, Kogi, Benue, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Taraba States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, wth the Middle Belt Forum (MBF). (Ends)