Nupe to withdraw members from Confab

By Mohammed Kandi

Following the conspicuous exclusion of the Nupe ethnic group from the on-going National conference, Nupe Foundation has threatened to refrain all its members from participating in the rest of the event.

In a statement issued by the Foundation’s National Working Committee (NWC), inviting its members to an urgent NEC meeting Saturday 29th March, 2014, Chairman of the Foundation, It noted that the NUPES were excluded from the 90 slots (15 per Geographical Zone) allocated to the ethnic nationalities to the on-going National conference.

As part of the agenda of the meeting, the NWC is to order “the immediate withdrawal of all Nupe from the ongoing National Conference as a protest to the outlandish Exclusion of Nupes.”

It also observed that, “It is simply outlandish and abuse of history that, at a time, when a national conference whose highest number of delegates (90) about 20% was drawn from the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria, not one Nupe is deemed fit to be among the 90 ethnic nationalities, out of the total number of delegates (492) from all the various categories that constitute the membership of the Confab.”

“As a matter of fact, Nupes being the number four ethnic nationality in the country in terms of population and spread should naturally occupy a position of prominence in the number of delegates, among the ethnic nationality category, to the conference,” it explained.

The NWC also observed that History, both ancient and contemporary has it that the Nupe, either as a people or as individuals played prominent roles that have shaped the history of our country today.

The NWC, however, commend the wisdom of President Goodluck Jonathan, for convening the historic assembly, which more than any other achievements of his administration is bound to receive the most resounding accolades of posterity.

The Nupe Foundation is a Socio-cultural organization for all Nupe people living in Niger, Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa States, FCT, and in Diaspora.