National Confab Rejects Minority Report

L-R: APC Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti,wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Bisi; APC National Leader, Senator Bola Tinubu and former Head of State, retired Maj.-Gen. Muhammed Buhari, at APC Mega Rally in Ado-Ekiti, last Wednesday

Delegates at the National Conference yesterday unanimously rejected a minority report presented by a member of the Devolution of Power Committee, Ms. Annkio Briggs.
Briggs submitted her report in Abuja immediately after the committee’s report was submitted by the Co-Chairmen, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomasie and Obong Victor Attah.
Attah, who spoke after submitting the report, said the committee had no doubt that the report would generate a lot of interest.
Briggs, a Federal Government delegate and member of the committee, said she was submitting a minority report.
“I am a member of the committee, unfortunately, I happen to be a lone-voice that does not agree with a very critical aspect of the report of Devolution of Power Committee.
“I hereby seek to present my minority report on the issue of derivation,’’ she said.
The submission of the report generated a heated argument as majority of the delegates said the report should not be accepted or considered while few others said it should be accepted.
Dr Bello Muhammed, representing Kebbi State, called on the conference not to accept minority reports.
Muhammed said that the conference rule did not give room for minority reports but decisions that were reached either by consensus or 70 per cent vote.
“If we accept this report, it may encourage other delegates who also want to submit minority reports after a decision had been taken by this conference.
“This is because it is not everyone that will agree with everything that we agreed on.
“If the committee has decided either by consensus or by 70 per cent the report of a committee, every reasonable member of the committee should be bound by that report,’’ he said.
In his contributions, Mr Atedo Peterside, another Federal Government delegate, also stressed the need to reject the minority report, describing it as deliberate.
Peterside said any delegate who did not agree with a decision on an issue with its committee could take advantage of the five minutes given to each delegate to express his or her opinions.
Mr Festus Okoye, representing Civil Society Organisations, also agreed that the report should be rejected, as several strong opinions from delegates were also rejected at the committee level.
“We all went into some of the committees with hard opinions on various issues.
“Some of us, our opinions on various issues were defeated at the end of the day. We followed majority decisions and we are here to defend the majority decision.
“If each delegate that disagrees on an issue is to write a minority a report, I think we will be seeking an extension for five years,’’ Okoye said.
However, the National Conference in Abuja yesterday  resolved contending issues and adopted the amended report of the conference committee on Citizenship, Immigration and Related Matters.
The report was on Wednesday suspended over contentious issues which centred on the provision and funding of grazing reserves and new technologies for herdsmen.
The committee had recommended that grazing reserves and new technologies such as hydroponic fodder solution for feeding cattle be promoted by government.
It also recommended that dedicated funds for the acculturation and acclimatisation of herdsmen should be provided for herdsmen for them to settle at designated grazing reserves.
While some of the delegates believed states where herdsmen came from should be responsible for providing and funding grazing, others said that it should be the responsibility of the host government.
The adoption of the committee report was preceded by a motion sponsored by 14 delegates and read by Mr Festus Okoye representing Civil Society Organisations, which resolved the contending issues.
The motion, which contained three prayers sought that an integrated development and livelihood modernisation programme be implemented.
Okoye said the motion addressed settling of nomadic herdsmen into communities based on establishment of cattle ranches with fodder development technologies; including abattoirs, processors and other businesses along livestock value chain.
Okoye said that the prayer became necessary to build on the innovative and transformative recommendations, citizenship and residency rights adopted by the conference.
He added that the motion was to create the environment that would reduce and prevent conflict arising from the encroachment by herdsmen into farmlands and competitions over land use between herdsmen and farming communities.
Dan Nwanyanwu of Labour Party seconded the motion which was unanimously accepted by the conference.
Chief Mike Ozekhome, a Federal Government delegate, however, moved a motion that the amended report of the committee be adopted.
Ozekhome’s motion was seconded by Justice Balkisu Aliyu, a delegate representing Zamfara, which was unanimously accepted by the conference as well.
The Deputy Chairman of the conference, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, ruling on the committee’s report said that “the majority has it more than consensus’’.
The committee report was the first to be adopted by the conference while deliberation also commenced on the Land Tenure Matters and National Boundaries Committee.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of National Conference, Justice Idris Kutigi (rtd), has threatened to order the arrest of delegates’ aides and drivers for planning to disrupt plenary over alleged non payment of their allowances.
Kutigi, who gave the warning during plenary in Abuja, said it came to his notice that the aides and drivers had written a petition planning to disrupt plenary.
He said the secretariat had earlier explained to delegates that there was no budgetary provision for their aides and drivers.
“We just received security alert that your aides and drivers are planning to disrupt our conference.
“I understand the demonstration is because of allowance and we have told you that there is no budgetary provision for any aide or driver in the conference.
“Please appeal to your drivers and aides to leave us alone to conduct this conference in peace or alternatively, we shall be arresting them.’’
Kutigi urged delegates to call their aides and drivers to order, as the conference would not condone any unlawful act within the premises of the conference.
“You better take the message to your aides and drivers to stop harassing the conference.
“We don’t want to arrest the drivers and aides of our delegates that are lawfully here, but if they begin to carry out any unlawful act, we shall get them arrested; so, please, warn them.”
The Federal Government has approved the extension of the ongoing National Conference by four weeks, the Conference Chairman retired Justice Idris Kutigi has announced.
Kutigi, who made this known at yesterday’s plenary, said that the leadership of the conference had requested for six weeks extension but an approval of four weeks was granted.
“After our sitting yesterday (Wednesday), we visited the Secretary to the Government of Federation and we were informed that the government only granted us four weeks extension. We have asked for six but we were given only four weeks.In that regard we have to get our programmes tight up because I think the conference will now end on July 31.” Idris said.
“Due to the time factor, the conference management feels we should request from the delegates whether you are prepared to put in extra sitting hours on Fridays and Saturdays?I know you did a lot during the committee stage, now is the final stage we also need the same sacrifices from you. We are requesting for additional sittings on Fridays and Saturdays,”he added.
The request was unanimously rejected by the delegates with some suggesting other ways to fast track the conference decisions and gain more time for deliberations.
Dr Bello Muhammed, representing Kebbi State, said there was no need for an extension in the sitting time if the conference could come up with a right procedure in deliberating and adopting various committees’ recommendations.
Mrs Esther Gonda, representing Plateau State, suggested that the two hours alloted for lunch should be reduced to one, “because I have observed that some of us finish eating by 3pm.”
Chief Mike Ozekhome, an addendum delegate, who also agreed that the time for lunch should be reduced, suggested that the time allotted to each delegate to speak on a matter should be reduced to three minutes.
“We should also sit by 9am instead of 10am which is the normal time parliamentarians and courts sit across the world,” Ozekomeh said.
After various suggestions by the delegates the conference agreed to be resuming sitting by 9am from Mondays to Thursdays.
Idris, however, said that the 9 a.m. sitting agreement would commence on Monday.