Chief Charles Nwodo, the National Chairman of defunct Progressive Action Congress (PAC), has urged the Federal Government to subject the outcome of the proposed National Conference to a referendum in the interest of the nation.
Nwodo made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.
He said that subjecting the conference’s outcome to a referendum would be better rather than forwarding it to the National Assembly for ratification.
Nwodo said that other countries had gone through constitutional drafting and amendment with the use of a referendum, therefore, ours could not be an exception.
According to him, the aims and objectives for which the conference is expected to achieve may be defeated if forwarded to the National Assembly for ratification.
He said that the final decision should rest with the peoples’ input at the end of the day to justify the relevance.
“It is necessary that the people of this country give their decisions a seal of approval in order to make the conference meaningful to the people.
“If it is just conceded without the public input, it may look as if nothing positive has actually taken place,” Nwodo said
Nwodo said that the essence of the referendum as supported by some Nigerians was to make it “a collective will of the people rather than sections of the people”
He urged that “every Nigerian” should be carried along whenever the country was taking decisions on matters that border on the life of the people, their liberty and future of the nation.
Nwodo noted that it had become imperative for the outcome of the conference to be subjected to a referendum for it to salvage the yearnings of the people. (NAN)
