One month to go, delegates desert National Conference

More than half of the seats reserved for the 492 delegates at the conference were left unoccupied yesterday, creating doubt among the delegates whether they have formed a quorum to adopt their committee reports.The conference was earlier scheduled to last for three months, starting from April 17 to June 17, but was extended to July […]

More than half of the seats reserved for the 492 delegates at the conference were left unoccupied yesterday, creating doubt among the delegates whether they have formed a quorum to adopt their committee reports.
The conference was earlier scheduled to last for three months, starting from April 17 to June 17, but was extended to July 17, making it four months.
Daily Trust observed that most of the delegates who were scheduled to speak on the report of the committee on economy, trade and investment were not around when the conference chairman Justice Idris Kutigi called them to speak.
A delegate from labour Aliyu Musa raised a point of order yesterday complaining about delegates’ attitude of not attending the plenary.
Earlier, the deputy chairman of the conference Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi raised the issue when he asked whether the conference had formed a quorum after it resumed from break yesterday.
“Did we form a quorum? I don’t want somebody coming later to challenge me that we didn’t reach a quorum before adopting the amendments,” Akinyemi said.
Akinyemi lamented that the empty seats portend negative image for the conference, saying “it is not good for the televisions to be focusing on empty seats.”
He said the secretariat had earlier discussed measures to be taken against truant delegates, adding that “we didn’t expect delegates to abandon this important assignment like that. But we are going to meet over it again.”
The conference has about four weeks to complete its assignment. It has been considering and adopting reports of the 20 standing committees in the last three weeks.
About two weeks ago, a delegate comp-lained during plenary that most delegates were not coming to the plenary “because most hotels were threatening to eject them for non-payment of their bills.” He said the delegates were not paid their allowances for six weeks.
Daily Trust learned though the delegates were paid early this week, most of them still abandoned the conference.
A delegate who spoke to Daily Trust yester-day said most of them are tired “because the reports being considered are not contentious.  The plenary is boring now as you can see.”
It was observed that delegates developed the habit of sauntering in the morning, register their names in then attendance list and leave again.
Of the 20 reports before it, the conference so far considered and adopted reports submitted by committees on agriculture, religion, science and technology and environment.
The four contentious committee reports yet to be considered are those on devolution of power, political restructuring and forms of government, politics and governance, and political parties.
It’s a conference rule that all delegates sign attendance register when they come and they should officially write the secretariat whenever they are to be away.
The 492 delegates would draw about N12 million each as allowances for the four months duration of the conference.