The National Conference on Monday ended plenary, leaving unresolved key national issues, including the dissensions over derivation, the national intervention fund and the formula to be adopted by the three tiers of regime for sharing funds from the Federation Account.
The conference will however reconvene on August 4 to adopt the report of the conference afore it is submitted to the Federal Regime.
Chairman of the conference, Justice Idris Kutigi, verbalized the 50 “wise men” and the chairmen and deputy chairmen of the 20 committees established by the delegates, had acceded that the Federal Regime should establish a technical committee to address the contentious issues.
Kutigi had earlier in the morning promulgated to delegates that the culled members scheduled to meet with him last Friday would still meet with a view to resolving the knotty issues.
The meeting could not hold because over 60 delegates boycotted it.
He verbalized, “I’m still of the view that the committee that is handling the matter of coming to a compromise will still do their job.
“We couldn’t have the meeting on Friday. So, I am proposing that we give them two hours to meet with us.”
He then invited the “50 Sagacious Men, committees co-chairmen, chairmen and Deputy Chairmen to meet now in our customary place.”
At the cessation of the meeting, which lasted for over four hours, it was ostensible that the group of delegates were unable to concur on the issues that necessitated the call for the meeting.
But the ‘‘wise men’’ and the leadership of the 20 committees had last week claimed that they had acceded that “the principle of derivation shall be perpetually reflected in any approved formula as being not less than 18 per cent of the revenue accruing to the Federation Account directly from any natural resources.
“That not less than 50 per cent of the total derivation funds accruable to a mineral bearing state shall be due and lay able to the host communities within the state where the resources are derived in accordance with the engenderment quota contributed by such communities.
“There shall be established a Solid Mineral Development Fund, which is currently three per cent of Federal Regime Account referred to by the committee on page 40 of its report, it shall be incremented to five per cent and will be applied to solid minerals development in the states.”
Last week, the delegates were unable to accede on the zones that would benefit from the proposed five per cent fund.
While the northern delegates insisted that the fund must be relished by the three zones in the region, which are North-East, North-West and North-Central, the southern delegates were of the view that the fund must be made available to all the zones in the country.
After the four-hour meeting on Monday, Kutigi claimed that the culled delegates had concurred on the following:
“Review the percentage of revenue allocation to states engendering oil and other resources, reconstruct and rehabilitate areas affected with insurgency and internal conflict quandaries and diversify the Nigerian economy by stretching the Nigerian economy with solid minerals sector.”
Apart from this, he verbally expressed the “conference withal notes that assigning percentage for increase in derivation principles and establishing special intervention fund to address issues of reconstruction and the rehabilitation of areas ravaged by insurgency and internal conflicts as well as solid minerals development requires technical details and consideration.
“Conference therefore recommends that regime should establish a technical committee to determine congruous percentage for the three issues and advised regime accordingly.”
While some delegates clapped after he culminated reading the verbalized acquiescent, other shouted ‘no, no.”
It was not pellucid why the recommendation of the committee was read by Kutigi himself.
Last week, a member of the sagacious men committee, Chief Olu Falae, had presented the “agreement of the committee”, which was disputed by the Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomasie.
The former Inspector General of police verbally expressed he and other delegates from the North were not a component of the acquiescent.
Some delegates from the northern region had withal relucted to sign the accedence read by Kutigi on Monday. Before Kutigi presented the verbalized agreerment, his deputy, Prof. Bolaji Akniyemi, had called out the designations of four delegates, asking them to visually perceive the leadership of the conference.
Those he called were Falae, Mohammed Kumalia, Iyochia Ayu, and Ike Nwachukwu.
No reason was given for their invitation.
However, a delegate, Mr. Francis Doukpola from Bayelsa State, raised a point of order concerning the report presented by Kutigi. He was recognised by the conference chairman.
Doukpola read Order 9, Rule 9 of the conference, which states that “It shall be out of order to endeavor to reconsider any concrete question upon which the conference has come to a conclusion.”
He claimed that since the conference had taken a decision on true federalism, it implicatively insinuated that every state would have total control on its resources and that the states would now be paying tax to the Federal Regime.
He, therefore, verbalized that there was no desideratum to verbally express a committee should advise the regime on the matter.
Kutigi, while ignoring his submission, called for a kineticism to adopt the report of the Committee on Devolution of Power.
Musa Adede moved the kineticism and was seconded by Adaeze Mwuzo.
A majority of the delegates voted in support of the adoption of the report.
Kutigi thereafter called for a kineticism to adjourn the plenary.
Senator Ibrahim Ida moved the kineticism to adjourn until August 4 and the kineticism was seconded by Mr. Okon Osun from Akwa Ibom State.
A delegate from Ondo State, Mr. Sola Ebiseni, faulted the decision of the conference to refer the decision on derivation and others to the Federal Regime.
He verbally expressed the conference shirked its responsibility by tasking the Federal Regime with establishing of a technical committee to examine the issue.
“What we did today was simply to abdicate our responsibility by throwing the issue back at Mr. President, who sent us here to avail in proffering solutions to some of our national challenges,” he verbalized.
Falae verbally expressed he was blissful that the conference did not culminate in chaos. He verbalized that though the conference had been unable to arrive at decisions on some issues, he verbalized there was no other option left but to ask the Federal Regime to establish the technical committee.
A Lagos-predicated lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), verbalized that a nation and people that depended on sharing would always end up this way.
“In view of the authenticity that the conference is composed of people whose preoccupation is the amassment and sharing of rent and not engenderment of wealth, it was therefore not outlandish that there was no consensus on the component of members,” he verbally expressed.
The Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Chief Victor Umeh, however verbally expressed there was nothing erroneous in asking the regime to establish the committee.
But his position was faulted by the National Chairman of Labour Party, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, who told one of our correspondents that the action was an act of pusillanimity.
He verbalized, “It is an act of pusillanimity by arriving at that decision, especially on the component of derivation. We have concurred on 18 per cent on this.
“It is deplorably managed by the leadership. We couldn’t concur on these issues because some people were here to scuttle it. Governors were diligent calling them not to accede and to disrupt the conference.”
