Plateau
State Governor Jonah Jang on Monday told the Senator Femi
Okurounmun-led Presidential Advisory Committee on the Convocation of a
National Conference to ensure that the outcome of the conference reflect
the wishes of Nigerians.
Jang, who spoke when members of the
committee visited him in his office in Jos, said the final outcome of
the national dialogue should not be left to the lawmakers.
President Goodluck Jonathan had said
that the conclusions reached during the national dialogue would be sent
to the National Assembly for further debate and ratification.
Jang expressed regret that previous
national conferences had not helped in solving the various problems
facing the country but said he hoped the current exercise would meet the
yearnings of the people.
He said, “The National Assembly should
not have the final say on the document that will be produced at the end
of the conference, but let it be one that will fulfil the yearnings and
aspirations of all Nigerians.
“Members of the National Assembly should
not feel that the national conference is taking over their job and I am
also saying that the outcome of the conference should not be the
subject of final ratification by them”
The governor said that too much power
had been concentrated at the centre and called for power to be devolved
to states, stressing that one of the reasons the Nigerian federation had
not worked was because of the glaring imbalance in development.
In one of the presentations at the
interactive session, the National Leader of Middle Belt Forum, Prof
Jerry Gana, suggested that the conference should be postponed till after
the 2015 elections.
He said that the zone applauded the
initiative of the national dialogue and is ready to make quality
contributions towards its success.
Gana said, “With reference to timing of
the conference, middle belt has two proposals: if the ongoing
preparations can be concluded by December or January this year, the
conference can sit for six months from February to July 2014 and submit
its report in August. However, in view of preparations for the national
election early 2015, it may be wiser to convene the conference after
2015 elections. As such, preparations for the conference could be
perfected in 2014, but the actual convene for February/March 2015 and
allowed to sit for the rest of the year 2015.
“With reference to the mode of
representation, middle belt is also proposing a basket of selection or
election criteria, namely, each ethnic nationality should be represented
at the conference to ensure equity, social justice and
self-determination.
“People should be allowed to elect the
participants, government should not select delegates for the people; it
should be purely a people-oriented programme if it must achieve its
desired result.”
The stakeholders meeting was attended by
some states in the North-Central zone as well as major ethnic and
interest groups in the zone.
The Punch
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