Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to honor late nationalists Chief Ayo Adebanjo and Chief Edwin Clark by implementing the recommendations of the 2014 Constitutional Conference.
George made the appeal during a media briefing in Lagos on Friday, following the deaths of both leaders. Adebanjo, the late leader of the Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organization Afenifere, passed away at 96 on February 14, and Clark, the prominent Niger Delta leader, died at 97 on February 17. Clark’s burial is set for May 13 in Delta State.
Both leaders were influential in the 2014 Constitutional Conference, which was convened by former President Goodluck Jonathan, where they contributed their vast experience and vision for Nigeria’s future.
In his remarks, George emphasized that a fitting tribute to the late leaders would be for the government to release and implement the 2014 Confab report, which they had worked tirelessly to shape. Recalling his collaboration with Adebanjo and Clark on a sub-committee responsible for recommending Nigeria’s constitutional structure, George appealed to President Tinubu to act on the report.
“Mr. President, I am appealing to you today, May 2, to release the report of the 2014 Confab for the benefit of the people of this country, in memory of the two old men, to immortalize their names,” George said. He added, “These people (Adebanjo, Clark, and other elder statesmen) are crying to Tinubu to release and implement that report. That is where we can achieve peace. When I saw all the work — the contributions of these two elders — and look at it, they died three days apart, I am not afraid to say we are going to take over from where they stopped.”
George argued that with the country grappling with economic, political, and security challenges, revisiting the Confab report is more urgent than ever. He pointed out that the current constitution and system are no longer adequate for addressing the needs of Nigerians.
The elder statesman also emphasized that implementing the Confab resolutions could help tackle persistent issues such as corruption, nepotism, sectionalism, and poverty. He urged President Tinubu to remain focused on solving the nation’s growing insecurity and economic hardships and stressed the need for electoral reforms to ensure true representation of the people’s will.
On recent defections from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), George expressed confusion over the motivations behind such moves but underscored the need for internal reconciliation within the PDP to restore party unity and confidence.
