NADECO re-groups for national confab
By Clifford Ndujihe,
Senior Political Reporter
TO ensure that the efforts of pro-democracy and civil society groups to organise a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) were not truncated, leaders of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) have woken to re-stoke the fire of the group.
An insider told The Guardian that leaders of the NADECO, which fought the military government of the late Gen. Sani Abacha to a standstill, regrouped last week. They are expected to amplify the work already done by the Chief Anthony Enahoro-led Nigerians United for Democracy (NUD).
The leaders met at a location in Lagos Island last night to perfect strategies on how to realise the SNC goal.
According to the source, those present at the meeting were representatives of the Committee for Unity and Understanding (CUU) from the East, West, and Ndigbo Lagos, among others. The CUU was the bedrock of NADECO during the struggle for the enthronement of civil rule.
The source disclosed that the leaders had to regroup following the crevice that developed on the walls of the NUD on modalities for convening the conference. In the NUD are notable groups such as the Citizens Forum (CF), Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) and United Action for Democracy (UAD), among others.
Apart from disagreements on the modalities for convening the conference last week, a crisis of confidence developed over the leadership of the NUD.
Alhaji Balarabe Musa's position that:
- President Olusegun Obasanjo should resign to pave way for the convocation of a National Conference; and
- The NUD should suspend its activities until an election into the NUD is held raised voices of dissent.
Members of the group who opposed the position said the resignation of Obasanjo as President, was not material to the convocation of the conference.
Besides, they said Obasanjo's resignation before the conference could hold was not a popular viewpoint in the NUD.
However, Musa who heads one of the committees of the NUD, said a change of leadership would confer credibility on its quest for the convocation of the SNC. He said that if the NUD refused to conduct fresh election to fill various posts, then the people would not take it serious in its pursuit of a conference acceptable to all Nigerians.
On why he was insisting that President Obasanjo should resign for the conference to take place, Musa who also leads the CNPP, said: "NUD has made it clear that there should be SNC to be conducted by a Transitional Government of National Unity."
Speaking on the issue, the source said that insisting on Obasanjo's resignation before holding the conference could truncate the entire exercise.
According to him, the posture amounted to playing into the hands of anti-SNC groups who had argued that two "sovereignties" could not be entertained.
"It appears that the politicians in the NUD want to achieve through the backdoor what they could not get through the ballot box. That is not the purpose of the SNC. We have always maintained that we can hold the conference with the current government still in power."
