The resolve of President Goodluck Jonathan to organise a national conference was on Tuesday welcomed by Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti as well as some eminent Nigerians across the country.
Fayemi, who addressed the people of the state shortly after the nationwide address of the president, called for sincerity in holding the forum.
The governor said the acceptance of dialogue as means of resolving the challenges confronting the nation was long overdue.
He, however, said that the fact that support for such a national dialogue was now coming from prominent members of the ruling PDP was a surprise.
Fayemi warned that the conference may be viewed with suspicion if no sincerity of purpose was attached to its organisation.
He argued that any meaningful dialogue must start immediately with the re-ordering of the fiscal structure of the federation.
Also commenting, a former deputy governor of the state, Chief Abiodun Aluko, commended the “uncommon courage’’ displayed by the president in proposing the conference.
“Mr. President is right to have conceded to the dialogue option because he knew himself that the exercise will help fashion ways out of our current crisis.
“It is my candid opinion that his bold step will resolve cries about marginalisation, religious intolerance, political bigotry and resource control among others,” he said.
A former deputy Governor of the old Ondo State, Alhaji Musa Ayeni, told NAN that the fact that the president’s call for dialogue was coming barely two weeks after that of Senate President David Mark indicated a positive development.
“This is the first time a Nigerian leader will openly agree on common cause aimed at moving the nation forward,” Ayeni said.
In Abeokuta, the Ogun capital, some politicians, however, insist that a sovereign national conference was the best option for the country.
The Ogun Chairman of the PDP, Mr Bayo Dayo, commended the president for giving Nigerians opportunity for their views to be expressed.
He, however, said that the conference would not be necessary if its resolutions would be subjected to ratification by the National Assembly.
‘’If the resolutions of the conference would not be binding, then we do not need to go and be spending our funds or wasting our time at the conference,’’ he said.
The chairman recalled that similar conferences had been organised before without any appreciable result due to the nature of the conference.
He said such conference would not have been necessary if members of the National Assembly had lived up to expectations.
Dayo, who noted that the views of Nigerians should have been expressed through their representatives for discussion at the National Assembly, lamented that many lawmakers were not close to their people.
The Publicity Secretary of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Sola Lawal, said the idea of a national dialogue was a right step in the right direction.
He, however, said that the success of the conference would depend on the mode of selection of participants and the nature of the conference itself.
The All Progressive Congress chieftain expressed confidence in the choice of Sen. Femi Okunrounmu as the chairman of the advisory committee, noting he had always championed the call for the conference.
The Secretary of the Labour party in Ogun, Mr Sunday Oginni, also commended the president over the planned conference.
Oginni said what was most important was the dialogue, saying ‘’ the nomenclature should not generate controversy.’’
He said those who were insisting on the sovereign nature of the conference were calling for anarchy.
Oginni, however, called on the Federal Government to be sincere in the implementation of any resolution that might come up from the conference.
But the Chairman, Ogun chapter of the Nigeria Bar Association, Mr Ayodele Adebayo, said that there was no need for the president to call for the conference.
” A hungry man cannot proffer solutions, government should concentrate more on providing electricity, employment, good roads and other amenities and leave dialogue for the National Assembly.
