The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum (SMBLF) on Wednesday reacted to the recent meeting of Northern governors with their emirs and Arewa leaders, declaring that the core North cannot dictate to them.

The Southern and Middle Belt leaders also insisted that Nigeria must be restructured before the 2023 presidential election.

The resolutions were contained in communiqué issued after an emergency meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.

Daily Trust reports that the Northern governors and emirs had met in Kaduna three days ago where they declared their commitment to Nigeria’s indivisibility and said the recent #EndSARS protest was an attempt to subvert the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

They similarly supported move by the federal government to regulate the social media.

But the Southern and Middle Belt leaders disagreed with the various positions of the Governors and leaders from the North, saying they cannot dictate to them.

“We do not see the thoughtfulness in the celebration of Northern youth not participating in #EndSARS protests as if they did not also loot like their deprived young people in other areas of the country which shows they are suffering the same thing. But instead of treating leprosy our counterparts are dealing with eczema,” they said as reported by Daily Trust.

They insisted that the seeming imbalance in the country necessitated the urgent need for restructuring.