Rights groups host constitution conference in Abuja & PH, Plan CONFAB

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) August 15, 2011 -- A number of heavy-weights in the political turf as well as the human rights community have concluded plans to host a modified Sovereign National Conference starting from late August.

Resent information indicate that heavyweights are hosting the first leg of the search for a people’s constitution in Port Harcourt, Rivers State between August 26 and 27. It was also confirmed that the second leg of the programme, under the aegis of National Constitution Convention(NCC) will hold in Abuja between September 13 and 14, 2011.

Those who have been linked to the constitution conference include elder statesman, Alhaji Maitama Sule; Chairman of the Conference of Nigeria’s Political Parties(CNPP), Alhaji Balarabe Musa; members of the Pro-National Conference Organisation (PRONACO); former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana; Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark; human rights activist and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association(NBA), Mr. Olisa Agbakoba; constitution lawyers, Professor Ben Nwabueze and Prof. Itse Sagay and former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who is now a chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chief Audu Ogbeh. Others include Prof Akin Oyebode, Dr Jibo Ibrahim, Dr Tunji Abayomi, Dr M.T Mbu, Dr Tunji Braithwaite, Chief Olu Falae, Chief Emeka Anyaoku and Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu and Alhaji Maitama Sule. It was learnt that the essence of the search for new constitution would ensure a national consensus on the laws that would govern Nigeria.

A document obtained by Sunday Triibune indicated that the leaders were worried that the 1999 constitution did not emanate from the people and that a constitution should produce a government and not the other way round. It was also gathered at the weekend that the Federal Government might partner with the civil society groups in search of what it called the acceptable and true people’s constitution of Nigeria, sources said at the weekend. Sources confirmed in Abuja that the Federal Government had been monitoring agitations for constitution amendment by the civil rights groups in recent past and the draft team putting together the proposed amendment to the 1999 Constitution had been asked to get hold of all documents prepared by rights and advocacy groups in the search for acceptable amendments to the constitution.

One of the documents already in possession of the government is the draft Constitution Amendment Bill by the Citizens Forum for Constitution Reform (CFCR), one of the advocates of the Sovereign National Conference and a people’s constitution. It was gathered that the government team had been busy since the media broke the story of the planned constitution amendment and the single term proposal.

Sources close to the coalition of rights groups confirmed that the administration could merge its proposals with the outcome of the sets of Constitution Conventions being put together by the NCC in Port Harcourt and Abuja, after which a draft people’s constitution would be sent to the National Assembly. The coalition is said to be seeking a national consensus on the people’s constitution, while a source said that it would not reject cooperation from the administration if the objective is to fashion a people’s constitution.

Sources said that as a way to further encourage government interest in its proposals, proponents of the Sovereign National Conference at the weekend modified their quest for a people’s constitution through a National Constitution Convention (NCC). The contention among proponents of Sovereign National Conference was that while the 1999 Constitution remained illegitimate, it had produced some officials elected by the people under its banners.

Sources said that while civil rights advocates believed that amending the 1999 Constitution could amount to placing something on nothing, it would prefer to go through the structures provided by that constitution as a way to achieve the true people’s constitution. Political and constitution heavyweights were said to have lined up behind the civil rights groups’ bid for a new constitution.

A copy of the draft arrangement for the people’s constitution obtained by Sunday Tribune indicated that leaders from across the six geo-political zones were involved in the peoples constitution. A document in possession of Sunday Tribune indicated the willingness of the rights groups to modify the call for Sovereign National Conference. The document however confirmed that the proponents of the series of meetings had deliberated on “what to do with the current constitution (ii) the present elected officials (iii) the amendment of the constitution (iv) the responsibility of the National Assembly in bringing about settlement in the current agitations on National Conference or Sovereign National Conference or Constitutional Conference.”

The document read in part: “As to Sovereign National Conference, it is hard to defend in view of the fact that the people as a sovereign have d

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