Nwabueze Dissatisfied As Nominated To National Conference Committee

In his  statement issued on Thursday 83-year-old Ben Nwabueze has described his nomination to the 13-member national conference committee by President Goodluck Jonathan as inappropriate.
Below is the quote from the statement:
“It is an appointment for a younger person, not for an old man of 83 years afflicted by ill-health.”
In Nwabueze's opinion, the President should have asked the Patriots to nominate someone rather than turn to him, who is battling with a terminal illness at a very old age.
Prof. Nwabueze, the leader of the socio-political association of elderly Nigerians (the Patriots), 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.
He added:
“The Patriots would be asked to nominate a member to 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 ceremony of the committee on the 7th of October because of health issue and nominated Mr. Asemota to represent him.
Still, on October 2013 he returned from London to Nigeria to chair the Anambra Literary Creativity Festival at Awka on 15 October.
But according to Prof. Nwabueze, it may be necessary for him to go back to London to continue his medicals.
“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 stated that he was already working with 13 prominent lawyers in Nigeria to draft a new people’s constitution, which would be soon presented to the Presidency and the National Assembly as a working paper for the National Conference.

Naij.com