"National dialogue’ll come to nothing" – Says Governor Oshiomhole
Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole on Monday said the proposed national dialogue would not achieve any meaningful result.
The governor said this at the South-South pre-national conference deliberations, which held in Benin City on Monday.
Oshimhole, who arrived late to the event, in his remark said the proposed dialogue was not designed to work.
He said previous conferences which held
to fashion out desirable political structure for the country did not
work and that the current national dialogue to be organised by the
Federal Government could not achieve good result.
He said, “One would have expected the
Federal Government to make an outline and allow Nigerians make
additional input, instead of saying there are no no-go areas and giving
the impression the exercise will end nowhere.
“When the issue of fashioning a new
political system came up in the past, a lot of money was spent,
transporting people all over the whole country and expending more on
related issues but at the end what did we get?
“To me, this (national dialogue) is not meant to work and it will not work.”
The governor’s remarks caused commotion
at the Imaguero College hall venue of the event with those who supported
Oshiomhole and those against his words shouting, ‘yes’ ‘no’ and made
continuation of the programme practically impossible.
While the Senator Femi Okurohunmu
committee tried to proceed with the event, the divided participants
continued to shout at each other.
Oshiomhole’s party, the All Progressive
Congress, had said the national conference being planned by the Federal
Government was diversionary and threatened to boycott it.
The Peoples Democratic Party had also
replied the APC, saying the opposition party was free to boycott the
talks, which it said was not holding along party lines.
At the pre-conference event in Benin on
Monday, various ethnic nationalities, including the Ijaw, Urhobo, Benin
and Isoko, made presentations.
