A group, Midwest Movement, has threatened to declare Bendel Republic if the Federal Government fails to address ethnic agitations.
It urged the government to revert to the 1960 and 1963 constitutions, to entrench true federalism.
Addressing reporters in Benin City, the group’s convener, Dr. Don Pedro Obaseki, said restructuring was the solution to the agitations.
Obaseki, who noted that the Nigerian federation was in dire straits, said the body was concerned about the country’s situation.
Reading the movement’s eight-point demand, he advocated structural deconstruction of the federation, saying the nation should be reconstructed through a re-federalisation process, using the 1963 Constitution as template.
Obaseki advised the Federal Government to broaden its consultation and engagement with stakeholders of ethnic nationalities, including the Midwest, to ensure restructuring.
Said he: “The uncertainty pervading the country is as a result of years of injustice, neglect and violation of terms agreed by the founding fathers at independence in 1960.
“We belong to the Midwest Region and we condemn attempts by ethnic groups trying to include it in their agitations. We will resist attempt by ethnic jingoists to annex, attach or conscript the Midwest territory as part of their territories.”
