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Igbo Leaders of Thought yesterday faulted the modalities for the forthcoming national conference released on Thursday by the federal government, but said it would encourage delegates from the Southeast to attend the conference.
Addressing journalists after their meeting in Enugu that lasted for four hours, the group’s secretary-general, Prof. Elochukwu Amucheazi, regretted that President Goodluck Jonathan swept under the carpet, the recommendations of the organisation on the national conference as contained in a letter it sent to him.
The group made up of professionals and elders form the region had recommended to the president that the national conference should constitute mainly members of ethnic nationalities and that it should draft an entirely new constitution which would be subjected to a referendum.
The meeting was attended by Prof. Ben Nwabueze, (SAN), Prof. Uche Azikiwe, Prof. Charles Soludo, Prof. Uzodinma Nwala, Prof. Vincent Chukwuemeka Ike, Rear Admiral Ndubisi Kanu (rtd), Col. Emma Nwobosi (rtd), Chief Enechi Onyia (SAN), Prince Chukwuemaka Onyesoh, Mr Chris Okoye, Dr Chu S. P. Okongwu, Senator Anyim Ude, Mr Obi Thompson and several others.
Announcing the modalities for the conference at a media briefing in Abuja on Thursday, secretary to the fovernment of the federation, (SGF), Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, disclosed that 492 delegates were to be nominated for the conference. Of this, President Jonathan will choose 77.
He further said that of the 27 groups of stakeholders outlined in the proposed composition of the conference, the president has power over six categories including the nomination of the chairperson, deputy chairperson and the secretary.
Prof. Amucheazi said: “We are concerned about the repositioning of this country; about renegotiating the existence of this country… when you are renegotiating, you bring the people concerned; so that’s why we say we the peoples of Nigeria, by peoples you are talking about ethnic nationalities. We have made our point clear to the president. Many ethnic groups from various zones are in agreement with us.”
Also yesterday, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) protested the single slot allocated to it for the national dialogue.
In a letter signed by Chief Okey Wali (SAN), president of the association to Anyim, the association expressed dissatisfaction over the slot, saying that the “NBA is a professional organisation that caters for the interest of all lawyers in the 36 states of the federation with 104 branches.
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