Nigerian government releases details of National Conference

The Federal Government of Nigeria on Thursday unveiled the modalities of the National Confab, disclosing that a total of 492 delegates will partake in the dialogue which would be named National Conference.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim, gave the modalities to journalists at a press conference in his office in Abuja.

Mr. Anyim said the National Conference will last for a total of three months and that nomination of delegates will commence on Thursday, January 30 and end onFebruary 20.

Giving a breakdown of the proposed composition of the National Conference, Mr. Ayim said government gave expeditious consideration to the report of the Advisory Committee and after long and mature deliberations on the report accepted the following recommendations for immediate implementation:

- The Official name of the conversation/conference shall be “The National Conference.”
- The National Conference shall hold in Abuja;
- The National Conference shall tentatively last for three months and shall discuss any subject matter, except the indivisibility and indissolubility of Nigeria as a nation, therefore the unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable;
- A conference management secretariat shall be established to manage, administer and run the affairs of the conference;
- Decisions at the National Conference shall be by consensus; but where it is not achievable; it shall be by 75% majority;
- The National Conference shall 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; and
- The National Conference shall have a Chairperson and a Deputy Chairperson of unimpeachable integrity.

A breakdown of the modalities for the nomination of the delegates is as follows:

- Elder Statesmen: One per state and the FCT making a total of 37 will be nominated by the President;

- Retired Military and Security Personnel which include one delegate per geopolitical zone each from the Military, Police, State Security and National Intelligence Agency – making it a total of 18 delegates to be nominated by stakeholders;

- Traditional Rulers: two per zone and one from the FCT making a total of 13 delegates to be nominated by stakeholders;

- Retired Civil Servants: one per zone. A total of six to be nominated by stakeholders;

- Labour Representatives: the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC, shall each nominate 12 delegates making it a total of 24 which would reflect Geo-political and gender balance;

- The Organised Private sector: NECA, MAN, NACCIMA, NESG shall each nominate two delegates;

- Nigeria Youth Organisations: National Youth Council of Nigeria and National Association of Nigerians Students, NANS, shall each nominate six delegates, one from each geo-political zone, while the Federal Government shall nominate six delegates, one from each geo-political zone for “other” (Outstanding Youths and Role Models)  making it a total of 18 delegates;

- Women Groups: National Council Of Women Society, NCWS, shall nominate 12 delegates – two per geo- political zone, while Market Women Association shall nominate one per geo-political zone. International Federation of Women Lawyers, FIDA;  Nigerian Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ; and Women in Management and Business, WINBIZ, shall each nominate two Delegates;

- Political Parties: parties that have representation in the National Assembly, including the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, All Progressives Congress, APC,  All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Accord Party, Labour Party, LP, shall each nominate two delegates making it 10 delegates;

- Christian and Muslim Leaders each shall nominate six delegates while Civil Society Organisations shall nominate 24 delegates across board;

- Nigerians in Diaspora ( Europe, America, Africa, Asia, and Middle East) shall nominate two delegates per location, making it eight delegates;

- People Living with Disabilities shall nominate six delegates, one per geo-political zone.

- Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria, Nigeria Guild of Editors, Nigeria Union of Journalists and the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria shall nominate 2 delegates each;

- Socio – Political/ Cultural and Ethnic Nationality Groups shall nominate 15 delegates each, per geo-political zone to reflect religious and ethnic diversities;

- Professional Bodies including NBA, NSE, CIB, NMA, NIM, NIA, ICAN, ANAN, NIPR, AAPN, NIESV, Nigerian Environment Society and  Nigeria Economic Society, shall each nominate one delegate, making it a total of 13 delegates.

- National Academies including the Academy of Science, Academy of Engineering, Academy of Education, Academy of Letters and the Academy of Social Sciences shall each nominate 1 delegate;

- The President shall nominate six persons not currently serving on the bench from the Judiciary;

- Former Political Office Holders including former governors, Senators Forum, House of Reps Forum and the Association of Former Speakers shall each nominate one delegate per geo-political zone making it a total of 24 delegates;

- The Federal Government of Nigeria shall nominate 20 delegates of which at least six will be women;

- The state governments shall each nominate 3 delegates while the FCT shall nominate 1 delegate based on Senatorial District at least one of whom shall be a woman. The nomination shall be done by the state governors and where the state fails to nominate, the President shall nominate the required number from the state;

- The ALGON shall nominate one Former Local Government Chairman each from the six geo- political zones;

- The President shall nominate the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Secretary, observing geo-political spread.

Fielding questions from journalists Mr. Anyim said that there was already a proposal for the funding of the Conference in the Budget. He added that the Conference will be concluded before the next election season.

Source: Premium Times

Jonathan denies accusing ex-Service Chiefs of ‘unhealthy competition’

President Goodluck Jonathan has denied media reports that he fired former service chiefs because of “unhealthy competition”.

A statement signed by presidential spokesperson, Reuben Abati, said the report was mischievous and that the President did not at anytime during his remarks in Yola say that the former chiefs were guilty of undue rivalry.

Mr. Jonathan was quoted by Vanguard Newspapers as saying in Yola that “I urge you all to cooperate because in recent times some mutual cooperation among the service chiefs and personnel have been lacking. This time around, we will not tolerate any unnecessary competition that would be retrogressive to this country.

“We charge you to work together and I believe that we would no longer experience any unpleasant situation we had in the past because of some obvious lapses,”

Mr. Abati, however, claims the media was being sensational when it reported that Mr. Jonathan said he sacked the service chiefs because of unhealthy rivalry.

 Read Mr. Abati’s statement below

“Reports in the media yesterday which claimed that President Jonathan said during his visit to Yola on Tuesday that he “fired” former service chiefs because of “unhealthy competition” amongst them are untrue and misleading.

“It appears that for reasons of mischief and reckless sensationalism, a section of the media deliberately chose to misrepresent the President’s innocuous and clear call for greater synergy and inter-service cooperation in the war against terrorism.

“President Jonathan did not at anytime during his remarks in Yola say that the former chiefs were guilty of undue rivalry, nor did he say, as claimed by some newspapers, that such unhealthy rivalry was responsible for recent security breaches in Adamawa and other parts of the country.

“As Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces and Chief Security Officer of the Federation, President Jonathan is fully aware of the importance and sensitivity of all defence and security-related matters. If he had any reprimand or admonition for the former service chiefs, which he does not, he would not have cavalierly given it at a public function as the media falsely reported.

“The President has nothing but praise for the manner in which the outgoing service chiefs did their job in very challenging circumstances and he did not in the course of his remarks in Yola suggest or imply that any wrongdoing, lack of cooperation or unhealthy competition was reason for the recent changes in the Military High Command.

“Members of the Armed Forces and all objective observers know that such changes are routine and in the interest of the growth and well-being of the Armed Services.

“President Jonathan has no need therefore to justify the recent changes to anyone and the recourse by the media to a totally off-the-mark interpretation of his remarks in Yola to explain the changes was most unnecessary and pointless”.

Source: Premium Times.