Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has restated his support of the restructuring of Nigeria along federating units, reasoning that the country  is not working as it should because the centre has more powers than the federating states.

He made the remark in Kaduna State during the memorial conference for late General Hassan Usman Katsina.

The former Vice President said that restructuring would foster national unity and integration, as well as bring to an end the continuous agitation for resource control and creation of more states by different geo-political zones.

According to him, while Nigeria must remain a united country, the unity which most citizens desire should never be taken for granted or taken as evidence that Nigerians are contented with the current structure of the federation.

Atiku also argued that the current presidential system of governance has thrown up so many issues in the polity such as struggle for power rotation at the centre, and overbearing control of resources by the federal government with limited resources going to the states and local governments.

The conference which had the theme: ‘Challenges of National Integration and the Survival of Democracy in Nigeria’, gathered dignitaries who came to celebrate the former military governor of the defunct Northern Region, Retired General Hassan Katsina.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who was represented at the occasion by the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahaman Danbazau, said that the time to achieve national unity was now, considering the numerous security and economic challenges confronting the nation.

He also stated that good governance remains the key for the sustenance of national integration, adding that the federal government under his leadership is making effort to enthrone political stability and protect the lives and property of every citizen.

Ango Abdullahi, a former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, cautioned the agitators for control of oil deposits in the Niger Delta region to have a rethink.

He observed  that it was the proceeds from the North that was used in developing the country before the advent of oil.