Group Condemns Calls For Sovereign National Conference

The Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJ), has criticised calls for the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference, calling it unnecessary.

Our correspondent recalls that members of House of Representatives on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) had earlier supported calls for the conference.

Speaking with  newemen in Abuja recently, the MDJ, National Chairman, Alhaji Mustapha Dankyarana,  noted that several efforts were being made to achieve a united Nigeria.

He also said that there were better avenues to discuss the Nigerian project than the SNC and that the National Assembly had the mandate to discuss any issue affecting the nation.

He said that the issue, if not carefully examined, could become a peaceful way of expressing the interest of individuals who may not even have the unity of the nation at heart.

“In the first place, you will start witnessing problems with the nomination of delegates given the divergent socio-political and economic backgrounds of our Nigerian society.

“I think we have other avenues to discuss our enormous problems other than the SNC, and I want to urge Nigerians to exploit some of these avenues.

“The National Assembly is there, where we have 109 senators and 360 House of Representatives members, whom we voted to represent our various constituencies.

“I believe they have the capacity to discuss sovereign issues and I think their responsibility should not only be to make laws but to also wade into issues affecting the entire country.’’

The party leader noted that the problem of the country would only be addressed through good governance, noting regrettably that greed had hampered development in Nigeria.

In the same vein, the former Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Solomon Ewuga, said that the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference would undermine the capability of the National Assembly.

Ewuga advised the proponents of the conference to channel their grievances through the National Assembly, describing the legislature as a reflection of the Nigerian character.

However, Alhaji Ali Abacha, the National Coordinator of the Northern Patriotic Front (NPF), a pro-democracy group, said there was nothing wrong with “convening to brainstorm on issues that had led to the country’s backwardness”.

Abacha said similar conferences held in the past, yielded good result, citing the example of the National Constitutional Conference, among many others.