This was disclosed on Sunday in Lagos by Mr. Olawale Okunniyi, Spokesperson for the pro national conference advocates in Nigeria, while reacting to the heightening tension in Nigeria and the non committal on national political consensus expressed by government in the media in the last three weeks
The veteran political organizer also revealed that government may not be able to stop a peoples’ driven national confab to be initiated by the coalition of forces advocating for an independent peoples’ national conference by mid-year as the window given to government to make up its mind closes by June
Okunniyi, a close confidant of the former Leader of the Pro National Conference Organization, PRONACO, late Chief Anthony Enahoro, and the Secretary of the Prof Ben Nwabueze led Project Nigeria – National Consensus Group, said a special document calling for the participation of the building blocks of the Nigerian federation at the proposed confab is already being prepared by sponsors of the conference
He also disclosed that some of the main working documents for the proposed independent peoples’ national conference, which is likely to run for one year would be the 1999 constitution, the PRONACO’s Draft Peoples’ Constitution among others such as the model Constitutions of the Patriots, the Citizens’ Forum for Constitutional Reforms and the United Action for Democracy
“Constitution making is a special activity reserved for a constituent assembly of a country in every decent clime. It is irresponsible and shameful for Nigeria to continue to run a democracy without a consensus document but on a decree tagged 1999 constitution foisted by the military on May 29, 1999 after elections have already been conducted” Okunniyi stated
The PRONACO Chief also informed that the military due to the exigency of the time strongly advised the incoming civilian regime to ensure that the transitional anomaly was corrected by convening a proper constituent assembly immediately they assume power.
“But alas! 13 years after, our civilian opportunists are yet to rectify this foundational problem of our democracy but preferring to continue to amend the subsisting military decree not minding the unprecedented bloodletting and killings in the country incited by the unpopular constitutional structure inflicted on the Nigerian peoples” Okunniyi lamented
He however stated that “If the national assembly is truly concerned about the unprecedented loss of lives in the country, it can urgently invoke section 9 of the same 1999 constitution to; either enact a law or amend that same section of the constitution for the purpose of a giving legal backing to the convention of a constituent assembly of the Nigerian peoples, which normally should have been done at the outset or advent of the current democracy but skipped by the military”
Okunniyi said the proposed national confab promises to be more elaborate, inclusive and decisive than the one organized between 2005 and 2006 under the auspices of PRONACO as more stakeholders have already signed on, following the various consultations and national dialogue put together in recent times by Project Nigeria and the National Summit Group.
