Jonathan sends confab report to N’Assembly for approval

The Punch - Nigeria

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday forwarded the report of the 2014 National Conference to the National Assembly, with two days to the end of his tenure on Friday (tomorrow).
The tenure of the current National Assembly too will end on June 5, just eight days away.
The document was forwarded to the legislature in a covering letter to the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, read the House’ copy of the letter to members on a day that also turned out to be the valedictory session for the 7th House.
Jonathan said the conference made far-reaching recommendations on many areas, including political restructuring and forms of government; political parties and electoral matters; public finance; national securities; land tenure matters and national boundaries; energy; human rights and legal reforms; and devolution of power.
Part of the letter read, “The recommendations of the conference on the implementation modalities of the resolutions are contained in Chapter Six of the report.
“The resolutions are classified into three broad categories, constitutional, legal and policy issues.
“The report further indicates the nature of the actions to be taken, the objectives to be achieved and the agencies that need to take the actions.
“The conference also submitted draft bills of resolutions that require constitutional amendments or legal enactments.”
Jonathan added that a meeting of the Federal Executive Council held on March 18 approved the report of the conference and resolved among others, to transmit the draft bills to the National Assembly.
Controversies had surrounded the conference, which was inaugurated on March 7, 2014.
While some Nigerians believed that it was relevant, others simply dismissed the conference as a “jamboree.”
There was a also a dispute between the Federal Government and the National Assembly over the relevance of the conference, coming at a time the legislature too was embarking on the alteration of the 1999 Constitution.
Many commentators also saw the conference as a “duplication” of the duties of the legislature, but there were others who felt its resolutions could be referred to the National Assembly for necessary legislative actions.
The promise to implement the report of the conference was a focal point in the re-election campaign of Jonathan in the period before the March 28 presidential poll.
But after he lost the election, there was a long silence on the report until it surfaced at the National Assembly on Wednesday.
The House merely admitted Jonathan’s letter and made no comments on the report before it adjourned sitting till next week Tuesday.
It is unlikely that the current National Assembly will take any actions on the report before its exit on June 5.