Senate President, Senator David Mark, on Monday said that time has come
for the country to shift from the syndrome of state of origin and
embrace state of residence.
He said that immediate elimination of
state of origin and enthronement of state of residence would go a long
way to cement relationship in the country.
Mark spoke to
journalists in Quebec, Canada, after the opening ceremony of the 127th
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, with the theme “Citizenship,
identity, linguistic and cultural diversity in a globalised world.”
He
noted that one of the issues that would be addressed at the on-going
constitution review is a shift from state of origin to state of
residence.
He wondered why a person who has lived in a particular
place for 20 years performing all necessary civic responsibilities
could not become an indigene of the area.
He said, “You should
know that one of the issues we’ve been discussing in Constitution
amendment is shift from state of origin to state of residence because it
is an important issue.
“You are resident in a place for 20 years and still, they don’t take you as part and parcel of that place.
“I
think it’s a difficult task but in my candid opinion, I think if we
have an open mind and we approach it from a nationalist perspective,
rather than a small, clannish perspective, I think we would get it
right.
“Let’s forget the business of state of origin and go to state of residence.
“Once
you are resident in a place and you perform your civic responsibilities
for the period, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t benefit, provided
of course you don’t claim dual residency.
“Some Nigerians may be
very clever. They would come from Ondo State and are resident in Benue,
when the benefits of Benue are not commensurate with their expectations,
they shift to Ondo State.
“We can’t have that. Once you take a particular area, you should just be a part and parcel of that particular state.”
He described the theme of the conference as extremely relevant.
The
theme of the conference, he said, is not “just international, it is
also national because that is the only way we can domesticate and
implement the theme.”
http://thenationonlineng.net/new/news-update/why-state-of-origin-should-be-abolished-in-nigeria-mark/
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