Confab Reports May End Up In Waste Basket – Abe

The reports of the
National Conference may have no impact on the direction of the country, except it comes to the National Assembly through a bill or during constitutional amendment, a member of the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe has said.
Senator Abe, representing the Rivers South East in the National Assembly, said for the recommendations of the National Conference to have impact on the direction of the country, it requires constitutional powers and backing.
He said the National Conference has no powers to implement its recommendations but can only make recommendations.
According to him,’’ The National Conference cannot do anything the President cannot do. So, it is only what the president can do that the Conference can do’’.
‘’ In a basket of ideas, you do not throw everything away. But on some reasonable suggestions the National Conference has made, it is regretting that they have no means of implementing these suggestions.
“They have very best suggestions and public discussions, but they have no legal place in our law and constitution and have no impact on the public’’.
He also noted that the “National Conference is like other panels that were set up in the past, the Walls Report is still there, Niki Toby report is still in the drawer, The UNEP Report; there are many others still pending, The National Conference report will soon join them”.
The lawmaker said the recommendations of the Conference would not go far except it is introduced into the National Assembly like any other bills or come through the constitutional amendment.
‘’Even if the National Conference has said things that made sense, they have no impact on Nigeria. It is best like a suggestion from you and I’’, he said.