For the National Conference to be meaningful there should be no restrictions, according to the South East Forum (SEF).
The Forum which addressed the media in Abuja on Wednesday, said since the people of Nigeria have discovered the need to dialogue, it is only necessary for every issue to be discussed adding that those who are entertaining fears that the country may disintegrate in the process should not worry because there will be no such because the country has come a long way and nobody is talking of dividing even as the need for reshaping the nation is pertinent.
Chairman of the SEF, Chief Louis Olube called for the total support of the Femi Okurounmu committee setting up the framework for the national dialogue to organize the dialogue in such a way that at the end of the day the entire country will derive the benefit that should come from such an exercise.
He said: “We at the SEF are of the view that the proposed national dialogue should be given a chance to succeed. Those who are expressing reservations about the dialogue should allow the committee to finish the good work they have started and we also want to insist that there should be nothing like the no go area in the national dialogue. Everything necessary to make Nigeria work should be freely discussed”.
On the lingering ASUU strike, the group also called on both the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASSU) to do all that is necessary to call off the over four month old strike which he regretted has been taking its toll on the Nigeria youths.
“The situation where our young people who are supposed to be the leaders of tomorrow are left to be roaming the streets is not acceptable because already most of them have started resorting to self-help in the negative activities like armed robbery and prostitution”.
He regretted the vigil stampede that happened in Uke in Anambra State where about 28 people died, even as he called on both political and religious leaders to henceforth desist from using religious grounds as political campaign grounds.
He called on all stakeholders in the forthcoming November 16 governorship election in Anambra State to including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the securities agencies and the politicians to ensure that the exercise was crisis free even as he urged he electorates to go out in their numbers to vote the candidates of their choice.