27th February, 2014
Constitutional lawyer, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, has ruled out attending the proposed National Conference as a delegate. He said he wanted to pave way for younger minds to participate.
Nwabueze, a former minister of education, made this known at a book presentation entitled: “The Position of the Igbo Nation at the Conference’ to the media’’, in Enugu on Thursday.
He said that he had agreed with the former Vice President Alex Ekwueme to play advisory role for delegates to the conference.
Nwabueze, who is the leader of `the Igbo Leaders of Thought’ in the South-East, said he had attended and participated in so many conferences in the country.
On the book published as the position of the Igbo at the conference, the elder statesman said it would be presented to the five South-East governors to guide delegates’ deliberations at the conference.
He listed some of the expectations of the ethnic group at the conference to include enactment of a brand new constitution and a conference that would represent ethnic nationalities.
“The type of National Conference that the Igbo desire and demand is the one that is backed by a law by the National Assembly to adopt a suitable new constitution.
“The one that embodies re-negotiated terms and conditions on which the diverse ethnic groups comprised in Nigeria can live together in peace and security, not a conference that the results of the deliberations will only be integrated into the existing 1999 Constitution.
“The book on the position of the Igbo Nation will be relevant to delegates at the conference,’’ he said.
The book was published by some Igbo leaders of thought. Among them are Nwabueze, the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo, a former senator in Ebonyi , Sen. Anyim Ude, and Chief Enechi Onyia, a senior advocate of Nigeria.