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African press review 27 June 2017

Nigerian State Governors issue calls for the restructuring of the country amid rise of ethnic nationalism in the country.

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We begin in Nigeria where the papers lead with reactions to calls for the urgent restructuring of the country to stop ongoing agitations in some parts of the nation.

Punch reports that the governors of states held by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party have offered strong backing to the recommendations made by 24 of their counterparts sitting in the ruling People's Progressive Party Governors Forum

The Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, who is also the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, told Punch that the present structure lacked the provisions that could enhance national integration, cohesion and prosperity needed to create an egalitarian society where social justice, fairness, equity and equality could thrive.

According to the paper the ruling party governors warned in the appeal made last Thursday that failure of leadership at all levels over the years and perhaps, the outcome of the 2015 general elections aggravated ethnic nationalism and extremist positions by Nigerians across the divide.

Vanguard says the debate about restructuring the country is raising passions about a subsequent redistribution of national wealth especially from the oil-producing Niger Delta region.

It reports that a group of militants known as the Revolutionary Crusaders, issued a statement on Monday warning that it would resist any further oil exploration and exploitation in the Niger Delta if the North executes an alleged agenda to sabotage acting President, Yemi Osinbajo's introduction of what it calls “fiscal federalism”.

ThisDay reports that the former Nigerian military leader, Rtd. Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has thrown his weight behind the calls for the devolution of powers to the states.

According to the paper, Babangida also condemned what he described as the ongoing altercations and vituperations of hate across the country, warning that “starting wars or political upheavals comes with the slightest provocation, but ending them becomes inelastic, almost unending with painful footages of the wrecks of war”.

In Kenya, the papers await the publication of opposition leader Raila Odinga's electoral manifesto today in which he promises a clean break from the past and a rebuilding of the country if it takes power from the Jubilee Party after the General Election.

Daily Nation reports that the National Super Alliance flag bearer on Monday took the opposition campaigns to his Siaya backyard in a series of rallies. Some were reportedly marred with chaos after rowdy youths threw stones at the gathering over Odinga’s call for a six piece voting pattern in the region.

With 42 days left before the August 8 Kenyan General Elections, the Star says if the voted were held today, incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta would defeat NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga by 48 to 39 percent, according an opinion poll published by the Nairobi-based newspaper this Tuesday.

The paper says the poll was conducted through a computer-aided telephone interview between May 3 and May 14, with 3,430 respondents over 18 years old in Kenya's 28 counties. The poll carries a 1.7 percent margin of error with a 95 percent confidence level.

Uganda’s Daily Monitor newspaper leads with the saga of a boy who travelled 230 kilometers from Morocco to Spain hanging underneath a bus.

According to the newspaper, emergency services in the southern Spanish City of Seville tweeted a video of the boy being led away from the bus they said arrived from Tangier on Monday. The Monitor says the boy appeared to be in good condition as he was being taken to hospital.

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