2015: Maitama Sule, Nwabueze, Others Want National Confab

Eminent Nigerians under the platform of the Project Nigeria have called for the convocation of a national conference before 2015 for the country to tackle its current challenges.

At a meeting in Lagos held inthe residence of the late legal icon, Chief FRA Williams, the leaders from the northern and the southern parts of the country stated that a comprehensive bill that would address the issue would soon be presented to both the presidency and the National Assembly.

Co-chaired by the country's former permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule and Prof. Ben Nwabueze, the meeting also urged the government to urgently convoke the conference before preparations for the 2015 general elections.

While Alhaji Maitama Sule led a delegation of the Northern Elders Forum, Prof.Nwabueze headed.The Patriot, dominated by members from the south.

Other members of the group that met yesterday evening were a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen.Alani Akinriande, one-time governor of Delta State,Chief Felix Ibru, a former Minister for Commerce, Mrs. Bola Kuforiji-Olubi and scores of others representing various ethnic organizations.

Reading the communiqués issued by the meeting, Nwabueze said 'the convocation of the conference has become very essential before any election must hold in 2015. To us, any election that holds before the convocation of the conference might spell doom for the country.'

In expressing their belief in the corporate entity called Nigeria, the group stated that disaster and anarchy might befall the country if the conference was not organised and the people of the country make the necessary inputs into the grund norm.

To achieve their aim, the group said a pan-Nigerian platform would be set up as an advocacy platform for the realisation of the objective.