Graham-Douglas Clarifies Call For Sovereign National Conference

A former Minister for Aviation, Alabo Tonye Graham –Douglas, says the need to strengthen the unity of the country necessitated the call by the Nigerian Project Group to call for the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference.

Alabo Graham-Douglas made the clarification yesterday in Port Harcourt while speaking as chairman at a one-day peace concert organised  by the Association for Non-Violence in the Niger Delta (ANND).

He said the explanation had become necessary following speculations in some quarters that the group intends to cause disintegration of the country.

According to him, “ the unity of this country is not in doubt and cannot be compromised”, but the group hopes to hold a roundtable discussion in all the six geo-political zones of the country to intimate Nigerians of the need to hold the conference.

Graham-Douglas who is a prominent member of the group noted that the present constitution of the country was handed down to the people by the military, saying , it did not reflect the wishes and aspirations of Nigerians.

The elder statesman advised the youths to uphold the unity of the Niger Delta region, having made their impact during their agitation for justice, equity and fairness, and corrected the impression that the amnesty programme would be scrapped.

The former minister urged the Niger Delta youths not to go back to militancy because they had passed that level but should utilise the benefits of the amnesty programme to their advantage.

He equally enjoined them not to react to the Boko Haram agenda because the Islamist sect lacked sense of reasoning in their agitation, pointing out that the Niger Delta struggle started with intellectual issues of inequalities and marginalization of the people that produce the wealth of the nation before the youths took it over.

In his speech, the President, Association for Non-Violence in the Niger Delta, Mr Kennedy West, condemned the activities of some elements parading themselves as MEND in the bombing of oil facilities in Brass, Bayelsa State since the leaders of the ex-militants had embraced peace.

West, however, called on some politicians from the North to stop interfering with the amnesty programme to avoid endangering the unity of the country, and called on the Federal Government to create jobs for the young people.

The peace concert with the theme” “ Core Values of the Amnesty Programme”., The Gain So Far” featured award presentation to some personalities like Mr Mamode Akugha, Gbenga Aruleba and Segun Awolabi while the first Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC) President, Dr Felix Tuodolor delivered a special paper.