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Clamour For Nat/Dialogue Is Same As For New Constitution – Analyst

The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja branch, Onyekachi Ubani, has faulted the intention of the Presidency to subject the outcome of the proposed … Continue reading Clamour For Nat/Dialogue Is Same As For New Constitution – Analyst


The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja branch, Onyekachi Ubani, has faulted the intention of the Presidency to subject the outcome of the proposed National Conference to the verification and possible adoption by the National Assembly.

In what he described as a ‘master stroke’ by President Goodluck Jonathan who set up a committee with the mandate to establish the ground work for the Conference, Mr Ubani, on Thursday said “if we do that then we don’t know what we have been clamouring for.”

While speaking on Sunrise Daily, Mr Ubani explained that the National Conference is the nation’s ‘golden opportunity’ to re-write the wrongs it has been living with since the colonial era.

“It is very commendable that they have realised that this nation cannot move forward except we sit down as a nation and talk and resolve some of those bottlenecks that have acted as a clog in the will of progress.”

He stated that crucial decisions would be made at the Conference, one of which would be interest in remaining a united entity as well as how the entity should be governed.

An agreement on how the country should be ruled indicates that there may be a New Constitution owing to the agreements made at the Dialogue.

“We have never had an input in all the constitutions… so the people have never had an input in the governance system.”

The Conference, he said, would present ‘golden opportunity’ for Nigerians to produce a constitution they agree with.

“What we have been clamouring for is a new constitution” not an amendment of the existing one, he said.

However, he raised concerns that the committee’s activities may be interfered with adding that “it is also very important that if you have set up a committee and given them terms of reference, you must allow that committee to do the job of doing the recommendation of the way forward.”

He called on stakeholders not to preempt the committee’s work as that would only give credence to what skeptics have been saying about the conference.

He faulted the National Assembly’s decision that the committee’s recommendations would have to be vetted by the House. “That is not healthy at this point in time,” he said, adding that,  “If the President begins to say that the outcome of the conference would go back to the National Assembly for consideration, you are spoiling the process.”

He added that “the President should be advised to be a bit circumspect, at this point, until the recommendation of the committee comes out.”

Ubani opined that submitting the Conference’s resolutions to the National Assembly would be wrong as that is not what Nigerians are clamouring for.