Politics
National Confab: Matters Arising
There is truly hardly any
misgiving regarding the need to have a dialogue, a national dialogue, in order to decide how Nigeria should be governed. In fact, Nigerians are really itching to talk about their future as many agree that th country is inching towards failure in terms of governance, equitable distribution of the nation’s resources, rule of law and other sundry issues.
What is, however, doubtful is the genuine purpose of the dialogue and whether at the end of the day it can truly pass for the type of national conference that a truly democratic mind anticipates. For instance, would the talk lead to the resolution of the nagging issues that are believed to be creating friction in the polity?
Such issues as true federalism, resource control, state police, rotational presidency, federal character or even the outright disintegration of the country, which some have suggested as the most reasonable way to go for the country given its highly multi-lingual nature.
Or would it, in the words of William Shakespeare, be full of sound and fury but hardly signifying anything meaningful to the common man as previous ones? These are the questions that require urgent answers before delegates from all shades of views about Nigeria converge for the national dialogue which President Goodluck Jonathan surprisingly promised during his Independence Day address as part of events marking the country’s 53rd anniversary.
In the speech, President Jonathan announced the formation of an advisory committee to steer the process leading to the conference, which he has momentarily christened “National Dialogue”. The committee is headed by a chieftain of the Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, and a Second Republic Senator, Femi Okurounmu, while a former Political Adviser to the President, Akilu Sani Ndabawa, is secretary.
Other members of the committee include: former Nigeria Ambassador to the United States (U.S.), Professor George Obiozor; respected constitutional lawyer, Professor Ben Nwabueze (who declined the appointment citing age as reason); Senator Khairat Gwadabe, Senator Timothy Adudu, Col. Tony Nyiam (rtd.), Professor Funke Adebayo, Dr. Mairo Ahmed Amshi, Dr. Abubakar Sadiq , Dauda Birma, Buhari Bello and Tony Uranta.
Inaugurating the members, President Jonathan noted: “Fellow Nigerians, our administration has taken cognisance of suggestions over the years by well-meaning Nigerians on the need for a national dialogue on the future of our beloved country. When there are issues that constantly stoke tension and bring about friction, it makes perfect sense for the interested parties to come together to discuss.
“In demonstration of my avowed belief in the positive power of dialogue in charting the way forward, I have decided to set up an advisory committee whose mandate is to establish the modalities for a national dialogue or conference. The committee will also design a framework and come up with recommendations as to the form, structure and mechanism of the process.
The full membership of the committee will be announced shortly. I expect its report to be ready in one month, following which the nation will be briefed on the nomenclature, structure and modalities of the dialogue.”
The President’s decision to convoke a National Conference or Sovereign National Conference (whichever he finally settles for) is a remarkable departure from his earlier stance. This is because he was one of the opponents of such conference on the ground that the National Assembly remains the valid representative of the people because, as he noted, the members were elected to discuss on behalf of their people.
This is the crux of the matter. It has also been, from all indications, the only reason for the unnecessarily prolonged dilly-dallying of the presidency on the issue of not only naming, but also making the proposed conference sovereign. The situation is not made any easier by the position of many within the corridors of power who have vowed to ensure that the word “sovereign” is never included in the conference.
One of them is Senate President, David Mark, who recently said “I’ll crush the bid to add ‘sovereignty’ to the National Conference”. In 2001, when pressed on the issue of the virtues of convening a sovereign national conference, President Olusegun Obasanjo unequivocally said something similar: “I cannot surrender the sovereignty that was given to me by the Nigerian people”.
As it stands, while the North is vehemently opposed to a sovereign national conference, the South, East and a majority of the West are clamouring for it. Some northern Governors have, in fact, been reported to refuse to send people from their State to “any conference”, while some leaders from the area have started singing war songs to counter calls for national conference.
Also, pundits from the North have not ceased to argue that “our constitution is not the problem. It is the people that use the constitution that needs to be upgraded”. It is therefore not surprising that just as President Jonathan was announcing that the final destination of the outcome of the conference is the National Assembly, spokesman for the most authoritative socio-cultural organization in the North, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), stated its stand unequivocally:
“The ACF does not believe that the problem with Nigeria is the structure of the country or the pattern of governance … for now, we do not have any position to present to them (the Advisory Committee) because we did not ask for a conference in the first place”, a statement quoted the leadership of the ACF.
The seeming indifference of the North over what has become a desperate quest by a majority of the parts that constitute the Nigerian state, and the almost sarcastic confidence with which the leadership of the ACF states its stand is an apparent indication of their knowledge that without cooperation from the northern members in the National Assembly, there can be no two-thirds to alter a single sentence in the current constitution, no matter the number of conferences.
Is this the reason behind the current rigmarole of sending the outcome of the proposed conference to the National Assembly for vetting? If this is true, as it obviously seem, then the rest of the country is, to say the least, endangered. This is because if the reverse was the case in the call for the sovereign national conference, the decision would have been made easily, probably with little thought about its implications on the rest of the country.
This explains why key stakeholders in the country have expressed the belief that the current proposed national conference will end up in the waste bin as previous ones because like President Obasanjo, the Presidency and National Assembly would not want to surrender the sovereignty that was given to them by the Nigerian people, since that is the implication of a “sovereign” national conference.
In the words of the former Vice Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Professor Ango Abdullahi, “a sovereign national conference will create a new level playing field for Nigerians to decide their future.
“In doing so, everyone, including the President, governors, and lawmakers at national and state council levels must vacate their offices and allow for a truly sovereign national conference to take over the running of the country”.
The extent to which this can be achieved remains to be seen.
President Goodluck Jonathan (middle), Vice-President Namadi Sambo (4th right) with members of the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue after their inauguration in Abuja , recently. Photo: NAN
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has revealed that the reforms initiated and implemented by his administration led to the saving of the sum of N2.3 billion for the local government councils.
The governor disclosed this recently at the opening ceremony of an orientation programme organised for newly-elected local government council chairmen, vice chairmen, councilors and principal officers at Perdis Hotel, Akenfa.
Gov Diri stated that on assumption of office in 2020, some local government councils were highly indebted and unable to pay salaries but his administration took measures that resulted in regular payment of salaries, execution of projects and saving of funds.
The Bayelsa State Chief Executive restated his call on the Federal Government to create additional local councils in the state, saying it was injustice for some states to have more than 40 councils and receiving monthly allocation from the Federation Accounts Allocation Commission (FAAC), while the state had only eight.
He charged the newly elected local government officials to make good use of the two-day workshop to equip themselves with the requisite knowledge to carry out their responsibilities.
The governor also called on them to work as a team to ensure that development was felt at the grassroots.
“Local governments as at 2020 were unable to pay salaries, particularly Nembe, Ogbia, Ekeremor and Sagbama. There was some form of dissatisfaction in the system.
“After I went through the recommendations of the Deputy Governor, whom I entrusted with investigating the local government, I wasted no time in approving the recommendations.
“The recommendations included the ban on loans from any source by local government chairmen without approval of the governor; compulsory savings by every council; and the division of balance after payment of salaries into 60 and 40 per cent respectively. One part was for compulsory savings and the other to project implementation and immediate commencement of computerisation of their payroll as well as compulsory quarterly award of projects by each council chairman.
“We found a lot of fraud in the local government system. But as it stands today, our councils have N2.3billion as a result of the combination of the factors of reforms and proper supervision of that tier of government.
“The breakdown is N400million compulsory savings while N1.9 billion for capital projects. This is aside from the one done by caretaker committees in terms of project execution within the short period they stayed”, the governor said.
Gov Diri assured of his administration’s commitment to support the councils to achieve their goals and expressed confidence that the new officials would meet the expectations of the people.
“We firmly believe that good governance begins at the grassroots level. That is precisely why we have gathered here to equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge to improve our local government administration and enhance service delivery.
Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Eze Oruamara/Regent of Okwuzi Kingdom in Ogba/ Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of the State, Eze Victor Afaka, has sued for peace among the political class in the State.
Eze Afaka made the appeal while speaking with The Tide on the sidelines of the governorship victory thanksgiving service by the Ogba Egbema /Ndoni Chapter of the Simplified Movement in Omoku.
He said Governor Fubara should be allowed to display the vision that God has given to him to govern the state.
According to him, since every administration has its term and tenure, the man presently at the helm of affairs in Rivers State must be given the opportunity to complete his own term and tenure.
“I advise politicians to sheathe their sword and allow peace to reign. Politics and governance have their terms and tenure. When it is your tenure, you have your vision to display; when you conclude that vision God has given you as a leader of your community or of a state, you step aside and leave the next person to display the vision God has given to him” he said.
The traditional ruler said he and his people, including the youth, women and the Ogbakor Egbema, decided to attend the service because of the excellent vision of Governor Fubara
“We are happy, Okwuzi people are in full support of the government, the government of His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara”, he added.
He said that the governor’s peaceful disposition to governance has endeared him to His Kingdom, noting that Okwuzi kingdom was already a beneficiary of the present administration’s purposeful governance as the Omoku/Okwuzi road abandoned 10 years ago, was nearing completion.
“ONELGA, Okwuzi are benefitting from his government.The road that was abandoned for ten years is being completed right now and we know that there are so many other things he will do for us”, he said.
While urging the state government to give desired attention to the Okwuzi General Hospital that is in a state of dilapidation, Eze Afaka entreated Governor Fubara not to be distracted, but to continue to promote peace and development across the State.
John Bibor
A group of North Central stakeholders in the All Progressives Congress (APC) has stormed the national secretariat of the party in Abuja, demanding the resignation of the National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja yesterday, the protesters said their demand followed his recent suspension by a faction of his ward executives and the alleged bribery allegation levelled against him by the Kano State government.
While they chanted solidarity songs and displayed several banners some of which read, “Ganduje must resign” and “Return the APC chairmanship to North Central,” the protesters appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, to consider returning the leadership of the party to the North Central.
Only on Tuesday, the Forum of APC State Chairmen had passed a vote of confidence on Ganduje, affirming their unalloyed support to him.
The protesters under the aegis of Concerned North Central APC Stakeholders lamented that the continued stay of Ganduje in office was a clear violation of the zoning principle in the party.
Mohammed Saba, who led the protesters, said unlike the 37 APC state chairmen, his people in the North Central have passed a vote of no confidence on the national chairman and equally demanded his immediate resignation.
Saba reiterated that the people of North Central felt betrayed when the position of APC national chairman was hijacked from them following the exit of Senator Abdullahi Adamu despite giving Tinubu the third highest votes after North West and South West at the 2023 presidential election.
He said, “We, the North Central APC Concerned Stakeholders, have resolved to unanimously agitate for our right and reclaim our mandate which was handed unto us by the National Convention of our great Party in 2022.
“Various sections of our constitution have established the procedure of replacing an executive member at all levels of the party in the event of death, resignation, incapacitation or expulsion from the party by any executive member.
“It is a fact that the emergence of Dr. Umar Ganduje as national chairman was done against the spirit and soul of the APC which is the constitution of our great party. This singular act has impacted negatively on us as a people in the North Central.
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