Confab Delegates Net N800m …As FG extends Deadline

Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, receiving an address from Chairman TUC, Comrade Chika Onuegbu, during the May Day Celebration 2014 in Port Harcourt, yesterday.

Following the extension of National Conference deadline by six weeks, the  about 492 delegates attending the conference will now be carting away a whooping sum of over N80,000 million, with each getting  N16.5m at the end of their assignment.
Granting the request by the Justice Idris Kutigi-led Conference secretariat, the federal government Wednesday extended the three- month conference deadline by six weeks – from June 17 to July 31  a development that compelled the allocation of additional fund to the conference.
The Tide Abuja correspondent covering the confab reports that at inception of the confab on March 17, each delegate was entitled to N4m per month, making N12m for the three months that the confab was billed to last initially but with the six-week  extension of the confab duration, each of the  delegates is to smile home with an additional N4.5m, totalling N16.5m (for each of them) .
Observers believe that while the confab is a compelling national assignment, giving each delegates a whooping N16.5m amounts to squandermania, especially when viewed against the backdrop that some of the delegates are not punctual at plenary and committee meetings as evident from their failure to comment on President Goodluck Jonathan’s inaugural address when their names were called by the leadership for that purpose.
The confab secretariat that conveyed the news of the six-week extension to its 20 committees reacted swiftly to it by releasing a new work plan which adjusted the existing work plan, following inputs from the leadership.
The new work plan gives a May  15  deadline to the committees to wind up their deliberations and submit their reports to the leadership which will be discussed at plenary from May 19 to June 12, while the drafting of the confab’s report will commence from Monday, June 16 to Thursday, July 10.
According to the new work plan, consideration and adoption of the draft report will start on Monday, July 10 and end on Thursday, July 24, while the last week of the confab, starting from Monday, July 28 to July 31 is slated for the consideration and signing of the final report.
Although no reason was given for the extension, our correspondent covering the conference reports that it is not unconnected with the unfinished works of the committees  which many delegates feared  would not be thorough within the three initial month period so there was need for an extension if the committees were to deliver satisfactorily on their assignments.
Meanwhile, the confab adjorned  on Wednesday in observance of the  the May Day  public holliday to resume on Monday, May 5.