ON TUESDAY 7TH OCTOBER, 2008 

Background

 

1-day national consultative meeting of stakeholders from across the country on the state of Nigeria especially onmeans of evolving workable mechanisms for a genuine peoples’ constitution in Nigeria and the need to save the nation from the brink of collapse.

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 The consultative meeting was aimed at drawing up a popular framework and strategy for a broad engagement of national issues that have become central and critical to the survival of Nigeria. The meeting provided unique opportunity for stakeholders from various platforms who have constituently agitated for process-led and popular governance across the country. The meeting also afforded major actors from critical civil society platforms especially the political parties the unique opportunity to weigh the options available in making necessary inputs into inclusive process of evolving a new constitution.

Again, in view of the fact that recent move by a National Assembly to amend the constitution has failed to elicit popular interest across the country, the consultative meeting became necessary in re-sensitizing and re-mobilizing Nigerians from across the length and breadth of the country. The consultative meeting however considered the overall interest of promoting national unity and stability by strengthening democracy with a genuine constitution and credible governance and therefore sought to evolve consensus amongst critical stakeholders and interest groups from all shades of socio-economic and political platforms. In this vein, the meeting also considered the need to arrive at acceptable mechanism for entrenching a peoples’ Constitution ahead of another election in 2011.

Attendance and solidarity

The national consultative meeting draw participation from wide range of platforms represented by notable political leaders, civil society activists, professionals, media professionals, religious leaders, youths/students leaders. Notably, in attendance are leaders of Political Parties, Pro-national Conference Organisation (PRONACO), Labour Civil Society Coalitions, Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, CNPP,  United Action For Democracy, UAD, various civil society coalitions, socio-cultural organisations; namely Arewa Consultative Forum, Afenifere, Ohaneze ‘Ndigbo, women