President Obasanjo will have to approve any new constitution

The National Political Conference could lead to constitutional changes, but parliament refuses to fund the project.

The conference is being boycotted by the opposition, which says it has too few powers.

Civic and human rights groups have long demanded the chance to debate relations between Nigeria's many ethnic groups.

The 400 delegates to the conference are expected to be announced on Tuesday.

President Olusegun Obasanjo will appoint 50, while the rest are to be nominated by the 36 state governors, most of whom come from the ruling party.

Funding problem

Nigeria's national assembly has refused to approve the $7m requested for the conference.

But this opposition has not deterred Mr Obasanjo, who announced in a national broadcast that the conference will begin next Monday with alternative funding.

However, the BBC's Anna Borzello in Lagos says he did not say where this money would come from.

She says it is an inauspicious start to what is meant to be a long-awaited opportunity for Nigerians to discuss pressing national issues which could lead to constitutional reform.

Nation divided

Nigeria's 120 million people are roughly equally divided between Muslims and Christians while more than 200 languages are spoken in Africa's most populous nation.

Rival groups often clash for control of economic resources such as land while the introduction of strict Islamic Sharia law in the north sparked widespread religious violence.

Religious violence in Nigeria has claimed thousands of lives

Residents of the oil-producing Delta region have long demanded a greater share of the wealth generated from oil revenues.

Nigeria's current constitution was written under military rule, which ended in 1999.

Since then more than 10,000 people have been killed in communal clashes.

Opposition parties, however, say the government has too narrow an agenda.