Tag: Idris Kutigi

The Chairman of the National Conference, Justice Idris Kutigi (rtd), has denied the involvement of the conference’s principal officers in the campaign for the elongation of the tenure of the current administration.

Kutigi, in a statement yesterday in Abuja by Akpandem James, the Assistant Secretary, Media and Communications, said the comment of Chief Okon Osung, a member, on the controversial subject, was his personal view.

The chairman said decision of the conference to deny Osung’s comments were because certain members of the public mistook the delegate’s personal views as those of the conference.

He said: “This is far from the truth. The attention of the Chairman and other Principal Officers of the 2014 National Conference has been drawn to several publications and commentaries in the media arising from a press conference allegedly addressed by a delegate to the National Conference, Chief Osung from Akwa Ibom State.

“At the said press conference, Chief Osung was said to have called for a Presidential Declaration of a Moratorium.”

 

 

‘At this crucial juncture in our national history, a Presidential or National Assembly declaration of a politico-administrative moratorium or cooling-off period before the conduct of the third Transitional Elections scheduled for February 2015 has become an imperative necessity.

“This calls for a postponement of the or deferment of the scheduled 2015 elections by at least 18 months while retaining all the democratic institutions at all levels of governance and across the entire spectrum of the country’s political divide, without any bias to the statutory termination dates of such democratic institutions.

“Ordinarily, we would have ignored, as usual, issues raised by Chief Osung in his comments because as a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he has a right within the confines of the1999 Constitution (as amended) to express his personal opinions on any issue of his choice.

“However, it has been observed that certain members of the public have come to view the personal views of the delegate as having something to do with the Conference. This is far from the truth. Therefore, for the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state as follows:

“The views expressed by Chief Okon Osung regarding tenure extension for any elected official, based on any reasons cited by him, are entirely personal to him and must not be viewed or regarded to, in any way, have any anything whatsoever to do  with the National Conference or any of its Committees.

“That such views were never expressed on the floor of the Conference, which did not sit in plenary, as at the time the views were made public. It was never heard, never debated or discussed in any manner whatsoever in any of the Committees whose reports are already with the management of the Conference.

“Both the leadership of the Conference and the other 491 members only read about them in the media just as members of the public did.

“That such a position by Chief Osung was never submitted to any of the 20 Committees set up by the National Conference to deliberate on and make recommendations on critical issues that necessitated the call and eventual convening of the National Conference by the President.

“That none of these Committees either discussed or has made any recommendation or has even mentioned the issue of Presidential Declaration of a Moratorium in their reports as canvassed by Delegate Osung in the media.

“That the National Conference, presided over by former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi, GCON, did not at any point make the issue of tenure extension for any elected official part of a term of reference of any of the 20 Committees whose work were already completed before Chief Osung’s agenda was made public by him.

“That neither President Goodluck Jonathan nor any of his associates or aides both within or outside the Conference circle has made any representation directly or indirectly or has spoken to any member of leadership or delegate to the Conference on the issue canvassed by Delegate Okon Osung.

“Therefore, we are inclined to believe that Chief Okon Osung is acting on personal conviction or interest and is not, to the best of our knowledge, representative of any group participating in the National Conference.

“The only relationship Chief Okon Osung has with the National Conference is that he is one of the 492 delegates. Whatever views he is canvassing in this regard should be seen and regarded as purely his personal opinion which has absolutely nothing to do with the Conference”.

 

 

 

Proceedings began yesterday with complaints over the quality and quantity of food provided for lunch at the conference. A delegate was livid and said N4,000 cost per plate was rather exorbitant. He suggested that the contractor should be dropped for a new one with modest cost and quality food. But the Chairman, Justice Idris Kutigi, stemmed further discussion on the issue, saying he knew nothing about the food, adding that the Secretary, Valerie Azinge, would address the issue. Nothing was heard till the end of proceeding.

Plenary proper however commenced on a lighter mood when Erelu Olusola Obada, former minister of state for defence, protested the inclusion of ‘Mrs.’ In her name, asking that it should be deleted. “Please delete ‘Mrs.’ from her name. Erelu is now ‘Iyom’ number two,” Justice Kutigi said amidst laughter. Discussion soon shifted to other matters, including conflicting information on remunerations of delegates at the Conference. Delegates are agitated over the actual financial remuneration accruing to them and asked for public disclosure of the total package by the leadership of the conference yesterday. According to an aggrieved delegate who pleaded anonymity, contrary to what they were meant to believe, each member is going home with less than N4m per month. The delegate said the leadership of the conference would be asked for the balance of the money.

Lending credence to the insinuation, after the last speaker had made his contribution, Binta Musa, a Federal government delegate, raised a point of order that media reports have been contradictory on the actual amount paid to delegates and that the leadership should disclose it to the media for Nigerians to know. She said there was nothing clandestine about what they were doing and the leadership should not be afraid to make it public immediately. The entire floor was in support of immediate disclosure. The Chairman, who was surprised that members do not know what they were paid, however promised that the Assistant Secretary Administration and Finance, Prof. Mohammed Yakubu, would address the issue today.

It was also gathered that Lagos State delegates have rejected the allowances from the Federal Government. Instead, they are being paid by the state government, citing undue secrecy surrounding the allowances. But the Assistant Secretary, Media and Publicity, Akpandem James, said he was not aware that Lagos delegates rejected their allowances. “What I know is that three members from Lagos and six in all rejected their allowances on the basis that it was a privilege to be chosen for the conference and would rather not burden the government with the financial obligations. They said they were ready to see their participation in the conference as part of their contribution to national development. So, I am not aware that Lagos delegates rejected their allowances,” he said.

When he raised a point of order, Tunde Bakare of the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) reverted his earlier objection to addressing delegates in languages other than English. He said he was impressed with a delegate who interpreted the Islamic prayers he offered before his speech and that as such he has gained more knowledge with that. The cleric urged his colleagues to emulate such in order for others to benefit. Major general Alex Mshelbwala also caused a stir when, in his submission, he said bringing lions, chickens, goats and cobras together in a gathering like this is risky. A woman delegate would not have anything like that as she protested that there were no cobras or lions and chickens in the conference. But she was shouted down by her colleagues for not understanding the import of the language.

Engr. Bob Njemanze from Imo State saw no reason why President Goodluck Jonathan’s inauguration speech was being applauded by almost all the delegates. He said: “I don’t see much that has required such applause in this speech, if the man has done exactly what he was supposed to do. But we are now converting privileges to rights and rights t privileges.

“It is our entitlement; we should have good governance. So if a President comes out here and announces here things that would make for the betterment of our people, I don’t see why we should be sycophantic as those who were found in the two million-man march. There is nothing so particular that we have not found in other speeches. What I think is most important in this circumstance is the implementation of those things that the President has enumerated. And we should praise the speech writers who have captured the mood of the nation and the mood of the President. We should list our priorities and our privileges.”

While commending the Chairman for handling proceedings excellently so far, Njemanze however faulted him for the undue attention and time allotted to Lamido of Adamawa because there are some Nigerians that cannot be subjected to intimidation in an assignment like this one. “I wonder why my Governor even nominated me, and I asked my wife. She said you know you are not a team player. I asked her, after four children with you, my team mate, what other thing do I need to prove that I am a team player?”

The tone of discussion changed when the Labour Party leader, Dan Nwanyanwu, noted that tribalism and religion were the major causes of challenges confronting the country. According to him, aspiring and brilliant Nigerians would not be supported either by the government or communities where he did not come from. He also said corruption has dealt a serious blow to the psyche of the country. Nwanyanwu was however taken on by a media representative, Sani Zoro, who debunked assertion that tribalism and religion were the causes of the country’s problems. He said Nwanyanwu, while contesting for the presidency of a trade union, was supported by a leading power block who was a Northerner. “Tribalism and religion were no barriers when he was being supported by a Northerner. All of a sudden now, they have become our problems,” he asked sarcastically.

A woman delegate was angry that Gen. Ike Nwachukwu was said by a delegate to have flogged a woman head of school in the past. “If it were to be a man, he wouldn’t have flogged him,” she said. On a lighter note, Vice Chairman, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi said, “It’s a pity that Gen Nwachukwu has left the hall to defend the veracity of that allegation. We set up a tribunal to be headed by Mama Market and will have their sitting tomorrow morning.” Chief Ajibola Ogunsola also caused some buzz round the hall when he proposed that parents that have more than three children should be declared as contributors to the problems of Nigeria.

 

For the second day running, delegates to the National Conference engaged in a shouting match over the mode of voting.

Just like it was the case on Monday, the contentious issue engendered a sharp North-South divide.

Delegates were so divided on the issue that some of them ignored the Chairman of the conference, Justice Idris Kutigi who laboured throughout the session to restore order in the chamber.

Kutigi’s continuous shout of “order, order, order,” was ignored by some delegates as most of them sprang from their seats to demand that they be allowed to speak.

It took the intervention of the Deputy Chairman, Bolaji Akinyemi, who appealed to the conscience of delegates to restore some level of sanity in the chamber.

He said delegates should give the chairman the opportunity to meet with delegate leaders on the issue of mode of voting to see whether a consensus will be reach on the issue.

To save the conference from abrupt end, Kutigi accepted the suggestion of some delegates that the matter should be deferred to unspecified date to allow for more consultations and to allowed frayed nerves to cool.

He also accepted that leaders of delegates should be consulted to obtain the aggregate of opinions on the issue.

Northern delegates continued to insist that three quarter majority vote should be adopted to decide any issue the delegates failed to resolve by consensus.

Southern delegates on the hand demanded that two-thirds majority should carry the day any time the conference failed to achieve consensus on an issue.

The conference failed to resolve the thorny issue, which some delegates described as the “soul of the conference” before it adjourned for break.

The contentious issue contained in Order 6 (4) and 11 (1) (2) states “Any question proposed for decision in the Conference shall be determined by consensus and when this is not achievable, by a three quarter majority of the delegates present and voting.”

Former Akwa Ibom Governor, Obong Victor Attah said that the issue on voting should be settled.

Attah noted that two-third majority vote has always guided deliberations in the country and all over the world.

He prayed the conference to go by “the time honoured and time tested” two-third majority as the basis to decide any issue.

He wondered why attempts were being made to introduce three quarter majority when even Chief Richard Akinjide used two-third majority to allow former President Shehu Shagari to win election and became president of the country.

Chief Dan Nwanyanwu who came on the platform of the Labour Party in his contribution noted that wherever three quarter appeared in the 1999 Constitution, the drafters of the Constitution did not want the Section to be amended.

Insisting that the conference should adopt two-third majority, he said that three quarter majority as the mode of voting should be sent back to wherever it came from.

He said that a simply issue of “he and she” was difficult for the delegates to achieve a consensus.

Nwanyanwu moved that decisions at the conference should be reached on the basis of two-third majority.

What followed was a huge “no, yes, no, yes.”

Justice Lawal Hassan Gummi, the Emir of Gummi in his contribution said that three quarter majority should be adopted to achieve near unanimity on issues.

To Gummi, adoption of two-third majority was bound to do the country more harm than good.

As he spoke, there was revolt from the proponents of two-third majority.

Some of the delegates surged towards the chairman apparently to attract his attention.

The conference chairman continued to shout “order, order, order” but the agitated delegates refused to pay attention.

Akinyemi intervened and asked delegates not to disrespect the chairman.

The Deputy Chairman said that any attempt to disrespect the chairman would spell doom for the conference and lead to anarchy.

The Chairman noted that when the issue became hot on Monday, he ruled that full debate on the issue would be taken later.

He also ruled yesterday that full debate on the issue would be taken when delegates returned from their break.

Some of the delegates insisted that there was no need to postpone the evil day and demanded that full debate on the issue be taken.

When the delegates resumed after their break, the chairman attempted to call for adoption of the “National Conference Procedure Rules 2014.”

What followed was a resounding “no.”

Chief Mike Ozekhome said that if there was a motion that the rules should be adopted, he had a counter motion that the rules should not be adopted.

Ozekhome noted that on Monday because of the contentious nature of the issue on voting, whether it would be three quarter majority of two-third majority, the chairman advised that the matter should be stepped down.

He said that before the conference went on break yesterday the chairman again advised that the matter be stepped down.

He concluded that as far as he was concerned Order 6 (4) which deals with method of voting is an unfinished business.

There was applause by the proponents of two-third majority.

Chief Edwin Clark took the floor and advised that two-third majority should be adopted.

Clark who noted that no delegate should claim that he owns the country more than others said that it was obvious that some delegates came to the conference with mind set.

He cautioned that the only way the conference would achieve its purpose was for delegates to put Nigeria first.

Bello Mohammed (Kebbi State) noted that voting or no voting delegates came to the conference to decide issues by consensus.

Mohammed said that three quarter was chosen because it is near to consensus.

He cautioned that “those who think that they will use their number to intimidate others will not succeed.”

Mrs. Chidinma Uwajimokwu from Imo State said that two-third majority remained the best option for the conference.

She noted that it was obvious that achieving three quarter majority would be difficult for the conference.

Akin Arikawe who came to the conference on the platform of retired civil servants suggested that the issue should be deferred for another day to allow for consultation

He noted that the Chairman might need to consult with leaders of delegates on the issue.

Kutigi ruled that “decision on whether three quarter of two-third voting method is hereby further adjourned for further consultation.”

He did not specify when the issue will be decided.

Former Inspector General of Police Mohammed Gambo Jemeta said that the chairman should adopt the doctrine of necessity when it became necessary.

He noted that there was no need for delegates to be too hard on minor issues of procedure.

He said that since the conference will not be in session for two years, it was wrong for delegates to waste time on minor issues of procedure.

It was also observed that some delegates were already lobbying to be placed on what a delegate called “special committees”

But the chairman insisted that delegates would be given paper to indicate the committees that would want to serve.

Pastor Tunde Bakare suggested that group leaders and delegate leaders should be involved in selecting committee membership.

Bakare also cautioned that the right thing should always be done.

He noted that there was no need for delegates to sit for three months and produce a document that will be marked “KIV” (keep in view.).

Some delegates suggested that the conference should work toward producing a new constitution for the country.

Some opposed the proposed submission of the out come of the conference to the National Assembly while others wanted the conference resolutions to be ratified through referendum.

Former Senate President, Ken Nnamani said there was no legal backing for the conference for delegates to arrogate to themselves the powers the conference does not have.

He noted that the issue of referendum will be out of the way unless the National Assembly says so.

He said that delegates should not assume that the conference is a constitutional conference especially when delegates were not elected.

Attempts by Musa Elayo Abdullahi to guide the conference to make provision for secret meeting (executive session) was shot down.

Elayo noted that if all discussions were held in the presence of journalists delegates would be exposed and the country would be exposed.

Most of the delegates felt there was no need for secret meeting.

Festus Okoye who came on the platform of civil society said that he was worried that some delegates came to the conference with preconceived notions.

Okoye cautioned that no delegate should grandstand

He also cautioned that the media must be given unfettered access to cover the proceedings of the conference.

He called for the deletion of Order14 (7) which gave the conference secretariat powers to bar or withdraw accreditation of a media establishment.

Nduka Obaigbena also asked the conference to delete the offensive section.

Obaigbena said that no attempt should be made to gag, suppress or restrain the press from its duty.

The delegates agreed and deleted the proviso which states “provided that if the media publishes a report of the proceedings which the conference considers unfair, offensive and not a true reflection of what transpired, such permission may be revoked.”

What was left of the section reads “The Conference may grant approval to the representative of any media to attend the sitting of the Conference.”

 

Even before it takes off, the National Conference seems to be living up to its billing as a contentious forum.

Its plenary started yesterday on a stormy note.

The session, which was devoted to the adoption of rules of proceeding, was adjourned without adopting the mode of voting if delegates failed to achieve consensus on an issue.

The sharp disagreement on the mode of voting seemed to be a North-South divide with a preponderance of northerners rooting for 75 per cent vote to decide an issue. Most southerners believed that left with 75 per cent, no decision would be achieved.

Signals that the session might be tempestuous emerged as it started more than one hour behind the stipulated 10 am.

Mike Ozekhome, a chief, who described himself as an “addendum” from a minority ethnic group, fired the first shot on voting procedure.

He requested the Chairman, Justice Idris Kutigi (rtd) to allow him speak on Order 6 (4) and 11(1)(2), which deals with voting.

The section states in part that any issue under discussion shall be determined by consensus and in the absence of consensus, the chairman shall adjourn proceedings to allow for consultation.

It added that where consensus finally failed the issue shall be decided by three quarters of members.

 

But Ozekhome reasoned that achieving three quarters would be problematic.

He noted that controversial, emotive and sensitive issues were bound to come up.

In such a situation, he noted, it would be difficult to get 75 per cent or three quarters to support an issue.

The lawyer suggested that the conference should go for simple majority or two-third, insisting that three quarters was likely to produce a tyrannical minority.

The tyrannical minority, he said, might shoot down a popular issue because the conference was unable to get three quarters vote.

He prayed that the section should be reviewed to avoid a situation where the delegates would find it difficult to take decision on issues.

Ozekhome said: “369 is 3/4 of this conference, a number that is obviously humongous, elephantine and behemoth. As we go into the serious issues after adopting this rule, a lot of highly emotive, controversial issues and some demanding primordial sentiments would prop up.

“As a Federal Government delegate, I will discuss from the perspective of a nationalist, but there are many delegates here who are from various strata of our society who have their own issues, such as state police, which I vehemently believe in, regionalism or the form of government we are going to take. When such emotive and controversial issues prop up, how do we get 75 per cent or three quarters because it is going to be very difficult if there is no consensus.

“In other words, such issues are dead on arrival if we have to go by this rule.

“If we also have to go by this 75 per cent rule, it means we are going to have a tyrannical minority; if 74 per cent of the delegates vote on an issue and 26 per cent voted against but can’t carry through because we have not the 75 percent mark.

“The result is that the 26 per cent that voted against has actually won. So, my suggestion is that we should tow the line of parliamentary standard across the world by adopting 2/3 majority.”

Perhaps the stage of discord was set when Justice Kutigi told the delegates that the conference was not competent to change three quarters vote to decide an issue.

He said that the letter that appointed them stipulated that determination of an issue where consensus failed shall be three quarters of the delegates.

He said that the letter foreclosed discussion on three quarters vote to decide an issue.

Most delegates shouted that the section should be revisited.

Chief Adeniyi Akintola (Oyo State) wondered why President Jonathan should make up his mind on the issue.

He said: “If Mr. President has made up his mind on voting, why did he bring us here?”

Prof. Awwulu Yadudu reminded the delegates that there were some no-go areas as stated by President Jonathan.

Yadudu noted that Jonathan asked delegates not to discuss any issue that has to do with the continued existence of Nigeria as an entity.

He added that it was his wish that issues would be decided by consensus but where consensus failed three quarters should be adopted.

But Chief Ahmadu Ali said that decisions should be arrived at by two-third because three quarters will be difficult to achieve.

The ding dong went on unresolved.

Attempts by the chairman to shelve debate on the contentious issue were met by a resounding “no!”.

The delegates went on break.

On resumption from break, the Chairman said: “Let us go to page 12”. But the delegates would have none of it as they shouted: “No, were are still on page 11!” that deals with voting.

The chairman noted that some delegates said that the conference should work with consensus.

“We shall come back to it later after we’ve taken more arguments,” he said.

The issue did not come up again for discussion until Justice Kutigi adjourned the session.

Senator Ken Nnamani said there were inconsistencies in the draft rule.

He noted that in some place three quarters was mentioned while in other places “two-third” was used.

He noted even the Constitution allows for two-thirds to decide issues.

The former Senate President wondered why Justice Kutigi did not allow delegates to conclude the matter.

On appointment of chairmen and deputy chairmen of committees,

some delegates were of the opinion that the chairman of the conference and his deputy should not appoint chairmen and deputies of committees, as well as constituting members.

Such appointments, they said, should be subjected to democratic norms whereby members of committees should pick their own presiding officers.

Chief Olu Falae, among others, supported the idea of members choosing their chairman and vice chairman.

The chairman put the question and those against the draft carried the day.

Not convinced, the chairman put the question the second time. Those against the draft rule, which vested the power of appointing chairmen of committees on the conference chairman, outnumbered those in support.

Justice Kutigi ruled and banged the gavel.

Removal of chairman and deputy of committees after review of their performance by the conference chairman was also rejected by the delegates.

On quorum, the delegates decided that 1/3 delegate membership should form quorum for deliberation.

On replacement of conference official, some delegates wanted a time frame of 48 hours to be given to Mr. President to replace any conference official who resigned or became indisposed.

But, others said that Mr. President should not be compelled to announce the replacement of an official.

Chief Segun Osoba suggested that the conference should sit between 10am to 5pm. The break period should be reduced to one hour instead of two hours.

Osoba proposed an amendment to the provision of the rules of proceedings, saying that the conference should not be rigid about it.

The current rule being debated stipulates that plenary begins at 10 am and lasts till 2 pm to give way for a lunch break that lasts till 4 pm when plenary resumes to close at 6 pm.

Some of the delegates canvassed for the plenary to hold between 9 am and 4 pm without break. Others suggested the reduction of the break time to one hour, to enable them to close at 5 pm.

However, the chairman ruled for the retention of the current provision.