NATIONAL CONFERENCE WON'T DESTABILIZE NIGERIA

Participants at a one-day conference held in Paris, France, have called on the Nigerian government to convoke a sovereign national conference in order to reshape the present structure of the country.

They also urged the National Assembly to begin intense debate on structuring and creating the legislative framework for such a conference. These were part of the resolutions in a communiqué issued at the end of the conference, which was organized by the Europe chapter of the Niger Delta Peoples Salvation Front (NDPSF) at the Le Meridien Etoile Hotel, Paris.

In the communiqué signed by Niger Delta activist and spokesperson of the Ijaw Republican Assembly, Ms Annkio Briggs, human rights lawyer, Mr Festus Keyamo, and writer and activist, Mr Ayo Akinfe, the conferees noted that calling for a Sovereign National Conference does not automatically translate to the splitting of the country as feared by opponents of the conference.

The speakers also allayed fears that an SNC would destabilize the country but said it would rather give all ethnic nationalities the opportunity to sit down and discuss the way forward in their best interest. 'As the country celebrates its 50th anniversary, the government of Nigeria must call for an SNC that will reshape and review the present structure.

'The government and civil society groups in Nigeria should begin enlightenment campaign on the benefit of the SNC and allay any fear that such a conference will destabilize the peace of the country,' participants noted.

Speakers and participants included representative of the Unrepresented Nation Peoples Organisation (UNPO), Miss Maggie Murphy, veteran journalist Miss Donu Kogbara, while founder of NDPSF, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, participated via Skype.

The event was coordinated and moderated by Founder/President of The Netherlands-based Hope for Niger Delta Campaign, Comrade Sunny Ofehe.