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Can the centre hold?

Regional violence and a constitutional conference challenge federal power

Calming Nigeria's murderous ethnic tensions and reducing its chronic corruption are the chief declared aims of President Olusegun Obasanjo, half way through his second and last term. There are fears of a political meltdown at the elections in 2007. Obasanjo has resisted demands for a sovereign national conference to rewrite the constitution but concedes that the federal government may have to surrender some powers to the states and local governments. The government has therefore approved a consultative national conference, meeting in Abuja....

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Can the centre hold?

Regional violence and a constitutional conference challenge federal power

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