The groups made the demand in separate presentations during an interactive session held yesterday in Minna by the presidential committee on national dialogue for the North-central states.
Declaring the session open, the chairman of the presidential committee, Senator Femi Okoruonmu, urged the participants to restrict their presentations to the terms of reference given to the committee as part of their mandate.
Presenting the position of the Niger State government on the national dia-logue, Professor Yahaya Kuta thanked the committee for giving the state the opportunity to hoist the north central interactive session, adding that the state government was in support of the conference.
He noted that the emergence of mutual distrust among Nigerians in recent years calls for an initiative and a forum to discuss common problems. He also advocated for the reversal of the country to 12 states as it was before to reduce tension and fragmentation of ethnic nationalities into smaller units where they become minorities in some instances.
Also speaking on behalf of the Nupe Foundation for Peace and Unity, Major General Idris Garba (Rtd) urged the committee to submit the outcome of the national conference for scrutiny and final ratification by the National Assembly as promised by the president.
One of the speakers who presented a memorandum on behalf of the Coalition of Igala/Bassa socio-cultural organization, Dr. Yakubu Haruna Ugwolawo urged the committee to consider creating a state for the Igala and the Bassa out of Kogi state in order to bring peace and development.
Meanwhile, Nigerians have been urged to remember how the country came into existence while making their demands or submissions about the proposed conference, as the issues being raised by some groups could threaten the unity of the country.
The call was made in Minna yester-day by retired Colonel Aminu Isah Kontagora after an interactive session on the conference. He urged Nigerians to remember how the country was brought together by the colonialists and how some people fought and lost their lives to maintain its unity, maintaining that Nigerians should set aside their differences and work towards the development of the country, where all the citizens will live peacefully with one another.
