National Conference: Akinyemi confirms new constitution plan

The conference was convened by President Goodluck Jonathan to discuss and make recommendations on critical issues that most often divide the country down the middle.Such issues include resource control, form of government, revenue allocation, state police and local government administration.But soon information began to filter out that some influential persons are pushing forward a plan […]

The conference was convened by President Goodluck Jonathan to discuss and make recommendations on critical issues that most often divide the country down the middle.
Such issues include resource control, form of government, revenue allocation, state police and local government administration.
But soon information began to filter out that some influential persons are pushing forward a plan for the conference to write a new constitution.
Daily Trust exclusively reported yesterday that  Akinyemi was one of those persons involved in the plan and had been holding meetings with some prominent Northern delegates asking them to adopt a new constitution at the conference. Ishaq Modibbo Kawu, a delegate from the media, raised a motion yesterday making reference to the Daily Trust publications “which affect the integrity of the leadership of this conference.”
On the purported confab report, Kawu said: “We have not come here also to smuggle in an alleged document on the basis of certain geopolitical zones. So, this conference shouldn’t be part of any hidden agenda, if there is any issue that has to be tabled, it should be tabled frontally here so we confront it and I think the leadership has to respond to this issue.”
But Kawu’s motion didn’t go down well with Chiefs Mike Ahamba (SAN) and Sergeant Awuse, who argued that the conference should dismissed the publication, which they described as speculative and aimed at sabotaging the conference.
But Dr Haruna Yerima argued that dismissing newspaper publication would not be in the best interest of the conference.
He said since Akinyemi has been mentioned and the onus is on him to rise up and clear his name. “This is the opportunity for you to clear your name. I am advising you as a patriot, as a friend and as a true Nigerian,” Yerima said.
Despite this, Ahamba was invited to move a motion on the issue, asking those who were lobbied to come forward and say so publicly or the Daily Trust should be made to apologize.
 But former Senate President Ken Nnamani intervened, insisting that the conference leadership must clear its name. “God gave us two ears to hear two sides of the story, I move that the vice chairman should clear his name,” he said.
It was after Nnamani’s plea that Akjinyemi spoke thus: “Distinguished delegates, this is a very simple matter for me to address. Since the beginning of this conference, whenever I sensed that from the floor, there are conflicts emerging, I have taken the initiative in always approaching both sides to ask them to reach across to each other rather than use the floor to have a conflict.
“Now, if we are going to be honest with ourselves, you would remember that there are people who have said on this floor that they are here to write a new constitution; there are also those who have said no, they are not interested in writing a new constitution.
“We have an issue coming up, which is a discussion on modalities for implementing decisions of the conference. So, I approached those who said they were here to write a new constitution and I asked them what exactly do you mean by writing a new constitution? They explained. Then, I approached Alhaji Coomassie as head of the northern delegation; I said I wanted to speak to him. I also approached Professor Gambari who is a colleague that I wanted to speak to him.
“Alhaji Coomassie said the time I picked was not convenient but he would send a delegation to speak to me. I had even on different occasions raised the issue with Professor Yadudu and I said to them, from talking to the people who are talking about a new constitution, I said to the northern delegation, if people move amendments which we have approved, and they say in view of the fact that they have moved this amendment to the 1999 constitution they now have a new constitution, I said is that a big issue for us to have a big conflict over?
“Senator (Iyorchia) Ayu led the delegation and explained to me their objection to calling it a new constitution. That was the beginning and that was the end of this discussion that has now been called a lobby or whatever it is. All I did was to ensure that both sides start talking to each other before we have a big conflict on the floor…that is all, that is all.”
On the new constitution, sources told Daily Trust that already the President Goodluck Jonathan has identified key provisions that he would want in the new constitution.
They include abolishing of the 774 local government as the third tier of government; stoppage of Federal allocation to LGs; setting aside 50 per cent of oil revenues for the Niger Delta; creation of an additional state for the South-East; and provision of six-year single term for the president.
What Coomassie said:
The deputy chairman, when he spoke substantially said what happened. On Monday, last Monday, I was sitting here when he sent a note to me, “can we meet on the constitution at six o’clock today? You can come with a few people to back you up.”
I always fast on Mondays and Fridays so I sent a note back to him, that sure, why not but I have a problem. Today is a Monday and I am fasting and six o’clock will be approaching breaking fasting period; any other suggestions? These were exactly the words I wrote. I didn’t hear anything.
I discussed with a few colleagues here and I decided let me ask some of them to go and represent me. We decided to send former Senate President Iyorchia Ayu to lead four of them; Bashir Dalhatu, Khairat Gwadabe and one other and they went.
Before then, I sent him another note to say I have not heard from you, in spite of that I have raised a team to see you. When we closed from here, I was going out, he called my attention, at the lobby and he started to explain to me what he has just explained to you. If we agreed on certain issues, why not use referendum to okay and then we have a new constitution? I said okay, wait until the team comes and you will discuss with them. This was what happened.
But in addition to that, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, owner of the AIT, since the beginning of this conference had been organizing meeting between the northern delegates and southern delegates. I had always been invited but I never attended one. Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari tried to get me over but I started asking questions; what are his terms of reference? Why are we having this meeting right from the beginning? I didn’t go.
Eventually one day here, the same Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari asked me, we are required as leaders of the zone to have a meeting at the lobby there; that means chief Edwin Clark, myself, Professor Anya O Anya, himself, Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari, one or two others and Professor Jerry Gana who is my co-chair on the northern delegates forum.
We met at the lobby here, they said they wanted us to sanction setting up a technical committee to look into contentious issues so that it will help the conference. I raised an objection first, I said, not an objection but people should stop abusing us northerners because I have seen some publications, including paid publications in newspapers abusing northerners over the situation here.
Chief Clark reacted and said he too has been abused by even governors from northern Nigeria. He mentioned one governor. I asked whether that was supposed to be a reaction to my complain; some other people tried to subdue us and we forgot about it and we said okay, let the technical committee meet, three from each zone, three times six, eighteen.
We shook hands with Chief Edwin Clark here after that meeting. The nine people elected or nominated from northern states I handed over the list to Professor Jerry Gana here. I said he should give it to them, I said they have been meeting but this last Wednesday or Thursday, I was told that a new constitution has been written…later, chief Raymond himself came over here to me and handed over to me a paper which I have here addressed to Professor Yadudu who signed that letter, saying that from that day, northern delegates would not participate again.
 He gave a lengthy explanation attached to the document which is referred to as the constitution. I have already handed over to the leadership this morning. It contains the logo of this conference and it even contains the new states to be established. I was pondering on this; I was going to hold a meeting of northern delegates today so that we consider this and give appropriate reply.”
What Dopkesi said:   
It is absolutely true that Professor Gambari and I convened the National Consensus Bridge Building Group. The National Consensus Bridge Building Group has as its objective closing areas that are potentially difficult for the conference to handle without prior consultation.
The membership was extended to as many delegates as were possible and groups and we have been meeting regularly.
Secondly, I want to state that from the various meetings that we were having, it was very glaring that we are going to have problems or challenges with the last group of committee report and it therefore became imperative to build some sort of consensus.
Like Alhaji Coomassie said, the leaders, from the South-South we have Chief Edwin Clark; from the South East we have General Ike Nwachukwu; from the South West we have Chief Olu Falae; from the North Central, or joint chairmen, we had Alhaji Coomassie and Professor Jerry Gana.
This group nominated three delegates from each of the geopolitical zones making 18 persons and I was supposed to have been the 19th to serve as convener. We convened the first meeting; we discussed the issue, the national security report and the major issue was state police. We tried to harmonise and agree on the need for state police, what are your fears, you that are proposing, why must it be? We arrived at the conclusion that in a federal system, it was necessary to have at least, multi-tier levels of policing.
At that very particular meeting, it was also agreed we discuss the issue, the main committee report which was at that point when that document was prepared, was politics and governance, the paper we are taking today, electoral matters, the issue of restructuring, devolution.
About five reports were contained in there and any person that is honest will discover that all the recommendations of the committee were embedded in that report.
Also embedded in that report are some of the arguments or points that people have raised that they want discussed and it is tabulated in there.
Professor Yadudu who had attended at least one or two meetings of the Consensus Bridge Building Group, he was not one of the 18 people nominated; he now came into the meeting, we agreed that I should tabulate all those issues, a unanimous agreement of the 15 out of the 18 delegates that were present at that meeting and they were tabulated and produced from there.
 It was stated very clearly that this is a working document for us to be able to know the issues and any new issues that are not covered here would be raised.
Professor Yadudu then came in on Tuesday when we adjourned with a letter that the Northern delegates were withdrawing and he stated that certain decisions, consultations had been held with various groups and that was what was synthesized there and that we were only inviting them to come in and rubber stamp the decisions that had been taken.
I said well, Prof, he wrote a letter to me which I will present also to the conference since it has come to this. I replied him that very particular night in the presence of the other delegates that were there and I copied the delegates. There was nothing secret in that document and I made the copies available to the leadership of all the six geopolitical zones to state very clearly, this is a working document.
In each of the columns in that document, you will see that each of the zones and their final comments are put down there so that on any issue, if there are two or three people raising objections, we will be able to know them; the areas in which we have full agreement, then we will have to pass through them and try to find a fallback position on the areas we haven’t.
I envisaged this because Professor Yadudu did threaten that the conference leadership had made a decision on the constitution and this was the constitution and I said absolutely no; you are very much aware that the leadership of this conference knows nothing about these meetings and these consultations and I made it absolutely clear in the letter I wrote to him that there is no iota of truth and that I was shocked, disappointed and I have been further disappointed because a man I hold in high esteem, Senator Ibrahim Ida, who discussed this matter with me could get up and raise the same matter.
I found it on the front page of yesterday’s paper. I want to affirm irrevocably and irreversibly that the leadership of this conference has nothing absolutely to do with that document and that Professor Yadudu and his group, who want to break this conference are aware of it and…circulated it as if it were true. There is nobody who does not know that document is a working document amongst the people that were there and it is not a matter of a constitution.”