Former military head of State, retired General, Yakubu Gowon, on Sunday rejected the call for a sovereign national conference.
Gowon was a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Silverbird Award which was held at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos.
Speaking at the occasion, Gowon said his opposition to the call was based on the fact that Nigeria was already a sovereign state.
“I will not accept the word sovereign, because Nigeria is already sovereign,” he said.
“People who are calling for sovereign national conference want it at their own terms. For anybody to say let us get together to discuss the problems of our country and find solutions to them, I will welcome that.”
While speaking on the issue of Boko Haram, he urged the sect members to embrace peace.
“Boko Haram is just a group of people, they do not represent all the northerners. In the name of God, they should stop the excesses, especially in the, North and imbibe the love of the country,” Gowon said.
“Let them bring their problems to the table and we will find solutions to them.”
