The national conference yesterday woefully failed to meet the expectations of President Goodluck Jonathan in setting up the conference aimed at finding solutions to all the problems plaguing the country.
Rather, it threw part of its job back at the president, asking him to set up a technical committee to advise him on the derivation formula.
The conference had severally reached a stalemate while debating the report of the Committee on Devolution of Powers which, on its own, was not decisive enough on the derivation principle.
At yesterday’s plenary, the conference again adjourned its plenary from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., during which the 50 wise men sat to resolve the matter on the derivation principle, all to no avail.
When it later reconvened at 3 p.m. the chairman of the conference, Justice Idris Kutigi, announced that the plenary would be the last in the life of the conference, saying that it would however reconvene on August 4 for the writing of the report.
He also said: “After conference critically examined the issues in contention, confab recognises the need to (a) review the percentage of revenue allocation to states producing oil and other resources, (b) reconstruct and rehabilitate areas affected by prevalence of insurgency and internal conflicts, and (c) diversify the Nigerian economy towards the achievement of the solid mineral sector.
“The confab also notes that assigning percentages for the increase in derivation principle and setting up of a special intervention fund to address issues of reconstruction and rehabilitation of areas ravaged by insurgency and internal conflicts as well as solid mineral development requires some technical details and consideration.
“Confab therefore recommends that government should set up a technical committee to determine the appropriate percentage on the three issues and advise government accordingly.”
But a delegate from Bayelsa state, Francis Doukpolagha, on a point of order, told the delegates that they had already debated and concluded on the fiscal federalism and that it would amount to reviewing the item which order 9.9 spoke against.
Doukpolagha said the house had taken a decision to adopt fiscal federalism for the nation and the implication was that the oil-producing states managed their resources and paid tax to the federal government.
He noted that the issue of 13 per cent derivation “does not arise anymore,” enjoining the conference to approve the percentage of tax that would be paid by the oil-producing areas instead of dissipating energy on the derivation principle.
Although Justice Kutigi did not respond to his observations, he told the delegates that the decision taken by the ‘50 wise men’ was the last that would be heard on the plenary of the conference.
Delegates were, therefore, divided on the decision, with many of them agreeing with the decision of the ‘50 wise men’.
A former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmadu Ali, and National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, were among those who supported the decision to set up a technical committee.
Ali said: “Politically, conference can suggest anything it likes, which will be subjected to technical committee. What we are trying to do here is to go back to that level. We are not technical, that’s why we are having all these problems.”
But Shola Ebiseni, a delegate from Ekiti state, opposed the idea of setting up a technical committee to advise the president.
He said: “As far as I am concerned, the president set up this conference to take decisions and it is a shame that the conference is abdicating its responsibilities.”
He added: “Whichever way, delegates should have been allowed to vote on the decision of the committee on devolution of power. If the federal government wanted a technical committee it would have set up one in the first place.”
Source: Blueprint
