Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has expressed surprise at a statement credited to Chief Ayo Adebanjo who criticised him for reportedly describing those agitating for restructuring as political jobbers.
In a statement by his spokesman, Laolu Akande, Osinbajo said there was never a time he addressed any group of Nigerians with such terms.
“At no time did the Acting President say that those asking for restructuring were political jobbers looking for appointments. 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 Prof. 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,” Akande’s statement read in part.
He said further that “the debate on restructuring is an important one and the calls for restructuring cover a wide range of legitimate and constitutionally valid issues. Indeed all Nigerians have both a right and a duty to advance their arguments on the subject.”
“The Acting President himself have 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,” the statement read further.
