National Confab: INC Kicks Against ‘No Go Areas’

As President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan inaugurates members of the Advisory Committee on National Conference today, the Ijaw National Congress, (INC) has advised against the repeat of the past experience whereby the Federal Government denied minority people opportunity to proffer conditions to critical issues affecting them and saw such national discourse and dialogue as an avenue to fabricate ‘no go areas’ against the long-time interest of the peace, unity and stability of the nation.
President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Chief Tari Sekibo, who made the position known at the weekend while briefing journalists in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, said that the Advisory Committee on National Dialogue should resist the temptation to restrict the scope of deliberations when the conference eventually commences.
According to him, the military-type resort to creating inhibitions by designating certain topics as “No Go Areas” will make nonsense of the intention of letting Nigerians express their freedom of speech.
“The fear that the nation would break up if certain issues are not designated “No Go Areas” is unfounded and amounts to sheer scare-mongering. To foreclose the discussion to certain topics will cast doubt on the fidelity of the conference and the decisions that ‘we, the people of Nigeria’ will arrive at when the conference is concluded”, the INC chief stressed.
He urged the various organs of government and the dialogue panel to be duty bound at trusting the patriotism of Nigerians to discuss “all issues” and arrive at practical and mutually acceptable solutions, terms and agreements on nationhood.
The INC chief appreciated the fact that Nigeria is currently reeling under internal contradictions of its ethno-religious compositions and socio-economic realities, and applauded President Jonathan’s support for a national conference at this time in the nation’s history.
On Ijaws’ disposition to the national dialogue, Sen. Sekibo said it would afford them another window to restate demands for interventions previously made by the INC on burning issues, including resource control, devolution of powers and the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
“INC is the mouth-piece of the Ijaw people and has been in the fore-front of agitation for a sovereign national conference’’, he noted, adding that this window opened by President Jonathan will afford the Ijaws the opportunity to make their long-standing case for justice, equity and fair-play in the Nigerian political equation.

Pro-Chanellor and Chairman of Council, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE) and Dean, Church of Nigeria, Most Rev Ignatius Kattey (2nd right), Dr Dominic Anucha (1st right), Vice Chancellor IAUE, Prof Rosemund Green-Oshogulu (middle), Representative of the state Governor, Evangelist Sam Eko (2nd left) and Prof Joshua Osahogulu, husband to the Vc (left), during a special thanksgiving service for the VC, at the university campus, Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt, yesterday.