National Conference leadership is under pressure – Okoye

It had been predicted by pessimists that the National Conference would be a waste of time and resources. With the revelation of a hidden agenda and rancour at the confab this week, would you say the prediction is being fulfilled?I am at the National Conference with a flexible, dynamic and progressive agenda. I am at […]

It had been predicted by pessimists that the National Conference would be a waste of time and resources. With the revelation of a hidden agenda and rancour at the confab this week, would you say the prediction is being fulfilled?
I am at the National Conference with a flexible, dynamic and progressive agenda. I am at the National Conference bearing in mind that it is an amalgam of the good, the bad and the ugly in Nigeria. I am at the National Conference with a clear realization that there are Nigerians that are happy with the way the country is being run while others want a gradual and progressive change.
There are also those that want a radical transformation of the political and economic architecture of Nigeria. I am at the National Conference bearing in mind that some Delegates will use temperate language and others will dwell on poisonous narratives. Therefore, the big surprise is that some of the commotion anticipated at the beginning of the National Conference are just manifesting. The beauty of the National Conference is in its openness. People have put their grievances on the table and even if they don’t achieve much they will go away with psychological victory and satisfaction that their issues are no longer in the closet. Others may achieve 20 to 30perscent of their agenda.
I am sure that no individual or group will go away with 100% of their agenda. Individuals and groups will go away from the National Conference happy and sad at the same time. The good thing is that none will go away empty handed. I don’t see a different agenda and I don’t see what is hidden. All the cards are on the table. People are lobbying for their positions to prevail. My take is that all progressive forces must support issues that will improve the lot of the ordinary people of this country. If there is a hidden agenda and the Nigerian people see through it, the National Conference will lose focus and the Nigerian people will consign the report to the dustbin.

What’s your reaction to the situation in which the contents of a secret document called ‘Terms of Agreement among the Six Geopolitical Zones’ are fast becoming the resolutions of the confab?
The National Conference dissolved into 20 committees and each committee produced a report. The report of the 20 Committees is presently being debated by the plenary. The report of 17 Committees have been presented, debated, amended and adopted by the plenary. The report of the Committee on Land Tenure Matters and National Boundary has been presented, debated and yet to be adopted on account of the outstanding issue of whether to leave the Land Use Act as part of the Constitution or make it a State matter.
In concrete terms, the outstanding Report is the Report of the Committee on Devolution of Power. The Report that has created disagreement and rancor at the National Conference is that of Political Restructuring and Forms of Government. And the areas of disagreement relates to the status of the Local Governments, zoning of political offices and State creation.  For me the Terms of Agreement among the Six Geopolitical Zones is a huge distraction for the Conference. Those that authored and authorized it apparently gauged the mood at the Conference and also wanted to use the document to coerce and negotiate. But in the main, I disagree with the fact the intendment of the said document is being followed by the conference.  

Voice vote was used to silence delegates who opposed the scrapping of local governments, creation of additional states, and the removal of local governments from revenue sharing. How did this happen and what are your thoughts on them?
Order X1(1) & (2) of the National Conference Procedure Rules 2014 guides and regulates proceedings at the National Conference. It provides that “All decisions of the Conference at Plenary and Committee stage shall be reached by consensus or in the absence of that, the Chairman shall, at his discretion adjourn proceedings to allow for further consultation.” Subsection (2) of the same Order provides that “In case of failure to reach a resolution on the matter by consensus, it shall be decided by a vote of seventy percent {70%} majority of delegates present and voting.”
The truth is that since the National Conference started, voice vote has been adopted in arriving at major decisions of the Conference.  The Chairman and the Deputy and sometimes in consultation with other management staff decide on the direction of the voice vote and make a determination on whether a particular item has been passed or not. The Plenary has used the voice vote in passing 17 out of the 20 reports of the various committees. The only time this procedure came under serious attack is during the consideration of the report of the committee on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government.
The procedure may not be perfect but it has worked so far. But make no mistakes about it, all of us knew that some of the issues in the Report of Committee on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government and Devolution of Power will be contentious and that explains why almost all the delegates turned up for the debates and voting when the report of the committee on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government was presented, debated and passed.

The rule of the confab talks about 70 per cent majority decision or consensus. How do you achieve this through voice-vote?
It is at the discretion of the Chairman to decide on whether a consensus has been achieved and whether there should be further consultation before dividing the Conference for the purposes of achieving 70% majority decision.
The truth is that all the delegates acquiesced to the present procedure of using voice vote to make a determination. It may not be perfect. It might have involved a lot of discretion but we have used it in arriving at decisions relating to the recommendations of 17 of the Committees.
In relation to the Committee on Land Tenure Matters and National Boundary only one item is delaying the passage of the recommendations and it was archived for further consultations. In practical terms, only the report of the Committee on Devolution of Power and that of Committee on Land Tenure Matters and National Boundary are outstanding.

Chief Raymond Dokpesi claimed that caucuses have been meeting to resolve difficult issues behind the scene. Which caucuses do you belong to and what issues have you resolved?
I know that various interest groups are meeting and taking positions on certain issues before coming to the Plenary. People came to the National Conference on different platforms. Some represent the interest of their States; some came on zonal platforms.
Some came on religious platforms while some came on the platform of ethnic nationalities. Labor and Civil Society groups and its allies also have a platform. I have been consistent in the Labor/Civil Society platform.
I also interact with those that came on the platform of the media and professional groups and associations. I have also received invitations to other platforms. I have attended some and could not make out time to attend others. The inescapable fact is that we must consult across platforms to get things done.

We hear about ‘New Constitution’ to be written by Professor Bolaji Akinyemi. How could that be?
The 2005 Political Conference suffered credibility deficit on account of a mysterious constitution allegedly packaged for the Conference. The same forces and the same institutions seem to be at work at the National Conference. I cannot see how Professor Bolaji Akinyemi can all by himself write a new Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I know him as a decent person and I served in the Electoral Reform Committee with him. He pushed and supported a lot of the progressive positions canvassed in the Report of the Electoral Reform Committee. Moreover, Order X111(1)(2)&(3) of the National Conference Procedure Rules 2014 makes elaborate provisions on what to do with the Final Report of the National Conference.
It states that “There shall be a Final Report which shall be the accurate recording of all the decisions reached by the National Conference.” “The Final Report shall be signed by the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and the Secretary after approval by the Conference before presentation to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” “Should the Final Report lead to the drafting of issues of law and policy, the Conference shall in consultation with the six Principal Officers of the Conference advise the government on the legal framework, legal Procedures and options for integrating the decisions and outcomes of the National Conference into the Constitution and laws of the Country.” The issues are clear. The Conference is advisory. Conference Procedure Rules recognizes the existence of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999(as amended). We are to advice on options for integrating our decisions into the Constitution and laws of Nigeria.

How would you assess the leadership of the conference now that they are been fingered as catalysts of the ‘hidden agenda?’
The leadership of the Conference is operating under very difficult circumstances. They were hurriedly appointed and given little time to prepare. They recruited key operating secretariat staff in a hurry. They set up platforms in a hurry. They organized the Conference in a hurry. The Delegates are also being rushed. I am confident that the Reports of the various Committees could have been more solid if we had time at our disposal. Committees hurried their work and in the process could not gather sufficient data and could not interact with key stakeholders in our political and economic life.
So everyone is nervous. We are hurrying to beat deadline. We reduced speaking time from 5 minutes to 3 minutes. The numbers of delegates that speak on the various reports have also been reduced. They are doing their best in the light of the difficulties at the Conference. No one can deny the fact that various interest groups go to consult the leadership or go to complain of one thing or the other. The leadership has consulted some of them in trying to resolve some contentious issues.

With the rejection of several adopted issues by the northern delegates, how should the conference handle those issues?
The biggest challenge facing the National Conference is that most Delegates stay in different places and in different Hotels. If delegates are housed together consultation will be easy and consensus will be reached at minimal cost. Because delegates stay in different places, it is easy for ethnic and religious platforms to mobilize and hold them hostage. It will be to the shame of all the delegates to allow the National Conference to collapse. We have made so much sacrifice and have worked so hard on the various reports and in the plenary. We cannot allow the enemies of our people to collapse the National Conference. We must therefore continue with consultations aimed at assuaging those that feel that they have been treated unfairly. But we must acknowledge the fact that individuals and groups must compromise for the country to progress.

At the centre of the controversies is resource control. The fear is that if aspects of the ‘Terms of Agreement’ are being smuggled into the decisions of the confab, it is possible to smuggle the 50% derivation into that report of the conference. What do you think and what would be the consequences of doing so?
The Report of the Committee on Devolution of Power will be presented on Monday the 7th day of July, 2014. Debates will take place on Monday and Tuesday and voting on the recommendations and amendments may also take place on Tuesday. As far as I am concerned, the issue of 50% derivation for any State cannot fly. States must develop in solidarity. In the context of equity and justice and in the spirit of fairness, the present derivation principle must be maintained. If the resources that go to the Oil producing states are well applied, basic amenities will be provided for the people. Unfortunately, some of the resources are frittered away on irrelevances.

If the hidden agenda are not accepted, then the decision of the conference would not be accepted by government. How would you discuss this?
If we produce a good report the Nigerian people will own it and canvass for its implementation. The society is dynamic and as the say tomorrow is pregnant. If anybody has a hidden agenda in setting up the Conference it will surely manifest. If some fifth columnists are working to discredit the conference it will surely manifest. What I know is that there are some decent Nigerians at the Conference who are deeply concerned about the future of our country. I also know that there are people that assisted in bringing the country to its knees and they want to make amends or atone for their previous mistakes and misbehavior.

Do you think the conference will complete its assignment before July 17, considering the rancour going on at the moment?
It is next to impossibility for the Conference to conclude its work by the 17th day of July 2014. There have been a lot of intervening circumstances that delayed the work of the Plenary. Realistically the National Conference will wind down at the end of July 2014. This has nothing to do with the challenges experienced by the National Conference on the 3rd day of July 2014.

What are the other issues you wish to comment on about the conference?
Just to stress the fact that delegates are encouraged to file their motions and amendments with the Secretariat of the Conference. Those that are not opportune to speak still get their issues in. The modalities for the National Conference are not perfect.
It has a lot of gaps and can be frustrating. We have managed to contain the challenges and I am confident that we can pull through. The National Conference is about Nigeria of today and tomorrow. The National Conference is about the unity and well-being of the Nigerian people. The National Conference is a revolutionary initiative aimed at making peaceful revolution possible. The options are clear. Implement the resolutions of the National Conference or mortgage the country and its future.