Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has faulted the calls for the restructuring of Nigeria, saying it would not make any difference.

In a statement on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, the Vice-President made his position known while answering questions after delivering the second foundation lecture of the Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State, titled “The future is here earlier than we thought.”

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar had recently advocated the restructuring of the country to ensure the development and growth of its federating units.

Atiku had said the country should be restructured in order to address the feelings of marginalisation by component units that make up the country.

“Agitations by many right-thinking Nigerians call for a restructuring and a renewal of our federation to make it less centralised, less suffocating and less dictatorial in the affairs of our country’s constituent units and localities,” the former vice-president had said at a book presentation, “We are all Biafrans”, in Abuja.

Since then, groups and individuals such as the Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere; the pan-Igbo umbrella body, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo; a former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; and an ex-Chairman of the Nigerian chapter of Transparency International, Maj.-Gen. Ishola Williams (retd.), had backed the call.

But Akande quoted Osinbajo as saying that calling for restructuring of the country simply because the Federal Government controls a bigger portion of the resources may not be helpful or make a difference.

“Even if states are given half of the resources of the Federal Government, the situation will not change. The only change is to diversify the economy,” the Vice-President was quoted to have told the gathering.

Osinbajo regretted that Nigeria is no longer earning enough income from oil and taxes.

He however expressed the belief that the paucity of fund currently facing states in the country can end if state governments focus on agriculture.

“We are not earning enough from oil and taxes anymore. The nation is blessed; every state can feed itself and also export if we engage in agriculture,” he said.