By Soni Daniel

THE National Dialogue being arranged by President Goodluck Jonathan might end up in the trash can like similar conferences bankrolled by his predecessors without the elevation of the talk to the status of a Sovereign National Conference.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Chief Chris Uche, made the assertion while speaking to Vanguard in Abuja, yesterday.

Uche, who specialises on constitutional and electoral matters, said that there was no need to embark on the talk just for the fun of keeping Nigerians busy while their myriad of challenges continue to mount.

He said, “My take on the announcement by the President is that once the dialogue does not have the status of a SNC it would not achieve any purpose for Nigeria. At best, it would serve to douse tension in the land by diverting the attention of Nigerians from the real issues and help politicians to prepare for 2015.

“At the end of the day, the outcome will not have the force of law as long as it is subject to the approval of the President or the legislature. As far as I am concerned, only a SNC, which will have the force of law can save the real purpose of a conference and nothing else.”

On the other hand, the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, said, yesterday, that it would welcome anything in the form of dialogue or conference aimed at dousing the tension in the land and move the nation forward.

National Secretary of NEF, Prof Ango Abdullahi, told Vanguard that the region was ready for whatever decision that the Presidency had taken.

Abdullahi said, “The North is ready for whatever has been decided in order to give the nation a better future. Nigerians really desire to have a better country. Our belief is that whatever the motive of the conference or dialogue is would be exposed at the right time. We believe that no gimmick will be hidden.’