By Sebastine Obasi

Political associate of late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, Mr. Melville Ebo has advised those calling for the restructuring of the country not to stampede President Muhammadu Buhari into taking rash decisions on the issue. Ebo who was a one-time South-East Zonal Secretary of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), stated this during an interaction with the newsmen in Abuja.

He said that the serious issues Buhari met in office necessitated the need for support to the President by all Nigerians in order to give the country a new direction.

“But for Buhari, corruption, impunity in business, politics, education and social life, would have destroyed the Country”, Ebo said. Ebo also said that while discussions on the future of Nigeria were desirable, the proponents of restructuring must never distract the President from the serious issues on ground as he insisted that all Nigerians would be losers if the country disintegrates.  He described most of the apostles of restructuring as ‘fifth columnists’ who he said were laying mines for the President and at the same time, waiting in the wings to contest for political power. Ebo called such people ‘’dishonest agitators” who according to him, were not genuinely committed to the advancement of the country. Ebo further advised Biafra agitators to retreat for what he called an introspection on the progress the Igbos had made since after the civil war. He warned that this progress must never be toyed with by those he said had no clear agenda on the future of Ndigbo. He expressed the view that it would favour the Igbos most if Nigeria survived as a united country since, according to him, Nigeria’s large size would mean a large market for Igbo businesses across the Federation.