Former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, on Friday called for equal representation of the six geopolitical zones at the proposed national conference.
Anyaoku made the call at an Interactive Session on National Conference organised by the Nigerian-British Association in Lagos.
He said: “I strongly believe that the idea of a national conference is not negotiable for this country, Nigeria.
“If the conference is convened, it will be a very useful opportunity for Nigerians to collectively reach a consensus.
“But the six geopolitical zones should be allocated equal representation at the national conference.
“Each of the zones should be represented with 60 delegates at the conference.
“With equal representation, each zone will develop at its own pace.
The former commonwealth scribe noted that the Federal Government was currently over spending on the administration of the existing 36 states.
He added: “We should return to regional form of government, where the whole country will be developed at the same pace.
“We cannot continue to spend a great deal of our resources on administration.”
British Deputy High Commissioner, Peter Carter, shared his country’s experiences and challenges before becoming United Kingdom.
Carter said that nation building was a continuous, necessary and difficult process.
He said: “We have in time past also faced challenges in our constitutional reform processes before we became united.
“Nigeria is going through a process, which is normal and healthy.
“The process will take Nigeria forward.
“One conference is not going to do, one process is not going to do.”
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