Prof Ben Nwabueze Thursday explained why he could not be part of the National conference committee.Confab committee: Prostate cancer kept me away says Prof. Nwabueze
Prof Ben Nwabueze Thursday explained why he could not be part of the National conference committee.
Prof Ben Nwabueze Thursday explained why he could not be part of the National conference committee.
Nwabueze disclosed that the rigours of treating a terminal illness like prostate cancer made it impossible for him to be part of it.
According to him “It is an appointment for a younger person, not for an old man of 83 years afflicted by ill-health,” the elder statesman said in a statement signed by him and distributed on Thursday.
Prof. Nwabueze who leads the Patriots-a socio-political association of elderly Nigerians-claimed that the group got a hint of the planned conference during a meeting with President Jonathan in July and expected him to ask the group for someone to be on the committee.
The Patriots have long been in the vanguard of those calling for the convocation of a national conference.
Prof Nwabueze, who was announced in the committee list on October 1 was however absent at the inauguration of the committee on the 7th of October. He was absent on health grounds and reportedly nominated Mr. Asemota to represent him on the committee.
According to him, he had to “cut short my stay in London for medicals and returned to Nigeria on Saturday 12 October, 2013 to keep a long-standing commitment to chair the Anambra Literary Creativity Festival at Awka on 15 October.”
“It may be necessary for me, after my Awka engagement, to go back to London to continue my medicals,” he added.
He further explained that his medical care and early appointment with his oncologist in London had been compromised a great deal due to a series of postponement of an earlier meeting with the President.
“It is not generally known to people that I have been fighting prostrate cancer for some years now, and have been kept going by consultations from time to time with, and treatment by a Consultant Oncologist at Charing Cross Hospital, London,” he said.
“My appointment with the Consultant Oncologist had been shifted many times because of several postponements in the dates of The Patriots meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Summit at Uyo, both of which eventually took place on August 29 and September 3 and 4 respectively, leaving me free at last to travel to London on September 8 for my medical appointments.”
Nonetheless, the elder statesman still offered the Patriots service to assist with the planned national conference, stating that he was already working with 13 prominent lawyers in Nigeria to draft a new people’s constitution.
This people’s constitution will soon be presented to the Presidency and the National Assembly as a working paper for the National Conference proper after it is deliberated at a soon to be re-convened patriot’s summit in Uyo, he said.
“This is the area in which I think my contribution to the work of the conference would be particularly useful, and I do not see this as in any way conflicting with the terms of reference of the Presidential Committee, although they (i.e. the Terms of Reference) contain a somewhat vaguely worded item, to wit, “to advise government on legal procedures and options for integrating decisions and outcomes of the national dialogue/conference into the constitution and laws of the nation,” he said.