AMID the froth and fury of a cut-
throat election campaign, the Federal
Executive Council last Wednesday
approved “the immediate
implementation of the 2014 National
Conference report.” In what seems
like a last-ditch gambit to gain
electoral mileage as Nigeria goes to
the polls on Saturday, the bizarre
order, coming just days to the
presidential ballot, should be taken
with a pinch of salt.
In all probability, the announcement
by Pius Anyim, the Secretary to the
Government of the Federation, on
behalf of the cabinet, is a cheap
political stunt and a blatant attempt
to deceive the electorate. Anyim said
the recommendations and resolutions
that require constitution amendment
and enactment of new laws would be
forwarded to the National Assembly
for promulgation into law, while
policy matters in the report would be
referred to the affected agencies and
the tiers of government concerned
for action. As was expected,
politicians have gone to town with it,
making outlandish promises,
including the creation of new states.
But turning the strategic issue of
restructuring to an object of a knee-
jerk reaction to a seeming
plummeting political fortune is a
disservice to the country.
There is nothing altruistic or patriotic
about FEC’s feckless authoritative
approval of a document that holds so
much hope for the country’s socio-
economic transformation, but has
been sacrificed on the altar of
personal political ambition. This is
another outrageous example of a
political joke taken too far. The FEC
statement lacks power to convince
those who had been canvassing the
implementation of the report since it
was submitted in August 2014.
Instead, the President consigned the
report to the archives. What, for
instance, does it cost the President
to trim his bloated cabinet, as
recommended by the conference,
when he had the opportunity to do
so after some ministers resigned last
October, and especially in the face of
dwindling oil revenues? The
President swore in another set of
eight ministers last week to fill the
vacancies left behind by those who
resigned to contest elections.
On several occasions between the
inauguration of the conference and
the end of last year, Jonathan’s
headline-grabbing statements had
offered a ray of hope to Nigerians.
Promising the conferees that their
work would not be a waste, Jonathan
had assured when the 22-volume
report, containing over 600 draft
proposals, was submitted that “it is a
new dawn in Nigeria and a new
nation is at the door.”
And shortly after this, the President
had set up another committee to
study the report, articulate the
recommendations made and develop
the strategies for the
implementation. The committee was
also meant to advise the government
on how to effectively implement the
report. Similarly, in his broadcast to
mark the 2014 Independence Day on
October 1, the President reaffirmed
that he would keep his promise.
“Every promise I make, God willing, I
will see to its fulfilment. I assure
you, we shall implement the report,”
he had said.
But apart from the soundbites and
fury, Jonathan seems not to be in a
hurry to act on the report and has
never built a reputation for
implementing any report. There were
the unimplemented reports of the
Presidential Advisory Council headed
by Theophilus Danjuma, which
recommended the reduction of the
cost of governance; the Presidential
Committee on Review of the Reform
Processes in the Nigerian Public
Service; the Public Awareness on
Security and Civic Responsibilities;
the Stephen Oronsaye Committee on
the Rationalisation and Restructuring
of Federal Government Parastatals,
Commissions and Agencies; and the
Justice Alfa Belgore Committee on
Constitution Review, which also
proposed the devolution of power to
the states, scrapping of the office of
the First Lady and autonomy for local
governments. There were also four
different committees set up to probe
the fuel subsidy scandal without the
government making any tangible use
of their reports.
One of the signs that we are a long
way off from the implementation was
the failure to transmit the report to
the National Assembly, which was
also considering some amendments
to the 1999 Constitution at that time.
The Deputy Leader, House of
Representatives, Leo Ogor, said
during this period that there was no
such report before the parliament.
Things should have been handled
differently if sincerity was in
adequate supply.
The failure to do so might haunt the
country for a long time. Today,
Nigeria is further from being a proper
nation than at any other time in its
history. Since the advent of civil
government 16 years ago, we have
altogether missed our national goals
in critical areas of development.
Because of our failure to restructure,
the component states that depend
mainly on oil revenues are finding it
hard to meet their financial and
security obligations.
Even countries that have had a long
history of being unitary entities are
evolving novel ways of devolving
power to their constituent units and
cities for rapid economic
development. In the United Kingdom,
which is an example of a unitary
state, the central government has
ceded some powers to Northern
Ireland, Scotland and Wales following
constitutional changes in 1997 and
1998.
No doubt, our federalism is
dysfunctional. The Punch editorial
stance strongly supports the
restructuring of the skewed political
system. When the conference was
inaugurated on March 17, 2014, we
had warned, “We must not allow
cynics’ narrative of failure to become
an excuse for despair. Despite
obvious constraints such as the deep
suspicion of the motives of President
Goodluck Jonathan, the controversial
pattern of delegate selection and
ambiguity over its legal status, the
conference has a good chance of
being the take-off point for the long
overdue restructuring of this tottering
political edifice.”
We will continue to stand resolutely
for true federalism as the only
political arrangement for the country.
But it is all evident that Jonathan
has failed badly to translate a
credible and painstakingly worked
out report to a constitutional reform.
He has missed the golden
opportunity to write his name in
gold. Nigerians should reject the
uncanny bait and cheap
electioneering gimmicks.
www.punchng.com/editorials/election-2015-dubious-confab-report-approval/

Does something good ever come from FEC? I love them sha and I respect their decision and will vote for them to continue till 2019.

It is very important to make the right vote because casting the right vote will make the right president.

Desperate actions but too late
#ihavedecided

.

In GMBs incoming govt. I/ We shall trust.....

Last minute futile macabre dance by some ill-tailored Captain(s) aboard a sinking ship


#WeHaveDecided

Too late

Am not going to vote for someone who once had no shoes and no school bag as a student but now has lots of shoes and bags but made student go on strike for about Eight ( Months. NEVER Am not going to vote for someone who couldn’t rescue about 230 girls but still has plans to rule a country of about one hundred and sixty million (160 million) people. NEVER Am not going to vote for a grown up man who took advice from a Seventeen (17) year old girl before he could make his own decisions. NEVER Am not going to vote for a Black Commander of an Army who brought white marine soldiers to do his job and yet nothing was done. NEVER Am not going to vote for a government who couldn’t provide a job for my Elder sister who has a Masters Degree.NEVER Finally, am Never going to vote for anybody who needs One Billion American Dollars to solve an insurgency while the ordinary man on the street ‘no even get hundred naira to take chop’. NEVER Am a good Nigerian who needs change, am tired of hardship and am tired of deceit. You can scold me for speaking the truth, don’t forget truth is always bitter, All I need is CHANGE and nothing else…

We all know PDP is going down

This man, kai.
ya ALLAH save us .
4 days to go In Sha Allah.

sai baba

Southwest leaders obviously fell for this. It has become their campaign chorus. If the content of the Confab repprt is okay,it doesn't take only an Otuoke man to get it approved.
#CluelessnessMustEnd

He just want to decieve d electorates.

I don't believe for one second that the Otuoke drunk can even make good his promise to implement nada in that confab report.

That man cannot be trusted.

will that really change anything?

If by chance Buhari wins this election, extremely hard times lies ahead for this country.

Definitely, the creeks will go haywire again, Buhari will send the troops to the creeks and together they will set the oil facilities ablaze.

OBJ's use of JTF force could help as no Oil producing company will risk producing crude and killing staff in a volatile region.

GEJ under Yaradua had to get down to the creeks to to talk to these boys and effect the amnesty program because they found him as a representation in government.

If after GEJ's achievements in almost all sectors, roads, bridges, railways, agriculture, automobile, alamajiri schools, new universities, fertilizer and ghost worker scam elimination, freedom of press, FOI, free and fair elections, power sector. .........etc, he is still booted out. It will be impossible to convince a ND minority albeit a militant that their own was not persecuted out of office. And that will be the theme of the new struggle. The long term solution to this mess is implementing the Confab report and enthroning true federalism.

While these persists, the oil producing companies will simply withdraw their personnel from the volatile region and all foreign investments will seize in all sectors.

And even if the troops kill 90% of the militants, it will take just one militant, a dynamite and just one location along the multi- kilometre trunklines to continue to wreck havoc.

Fast forward to 2019, if we remain one country and without a civil war,, we will be an economic wreck with no allocations and salaries, no capital projects, no hope with dollar exchanging for 400 naira and we are worse off than we were in 2015.

Cos the truth is that without crude proceeds for now, Nigeria is finished.

And then, we'll be screaming another 'Change' because we would have learnt a bitter lesson in the hands of the Fulanis, Tinubu and Saraki.And then we will ask.... Why were we this silly?

And before you quote me, make sure you outline in clear terms how you or Buhari will avert this obvious calamity staring us in the face


Only last week, they creek boys seem to have resumed activities by kidnapping at Yoho facility operated by Exxonmobil and have shut in 80KBD already. Are we ready for this for the next 4 years?

The entire world stands to benefit from a crisis in the Niger delta. Its not a coincidence that USA who abandoned us at the height of bokoharam is busy shouting for change in govt . Crises in the ND will reduce supply of crude to the Oil market and that would drive up the price of crude for producing countries.... But at Nigeria's expense.

Nigerians.... Be Warned!!!

Punch, the APC media wing. . The same group made a joke of the presidents intention to hold the conference. The president inaugurated the conference and allowed it to run full course. . Now they are trying to question his sincererity in implementing the draft report. . It is all part of a partisan campaign of calumny effectively deployed by a noisy oppossition to skew this countrys political development in favour of APCs tribal bases.

But apart from the soundbites and
fury, Jonathan seems not to be in a
hurry to act on the report and has
never built a reputation for
implementing any report. There were
the unimplemented reports of the
Presidential Advisory Council headed
by Theophilus Danjuma, which
recommended the reduction of the
cost of governance; the Presidential
Committee on Review of the Reform
Processes in the Nigerian Public
Service; the Public Awareness on
Security and Civic Responsibilities;
the Stephen Oronsaye Committee on
the Rationalisation and Restructuring
of Federal Government Parastatals,
Commissions and Agencies; and the
Justice Alfa Belgore Committee on
Constitution Review, which also
proposed the devolution of power to
the states, scrapping of the office of
the First Lady and autonomy for local
governments. There were also four
different committees set up to probe
the fuel subsidy scandal without the
government making any tangible use
of their reports.

Now tell me, what am I supposed to tell my kids were my reasons for supporting a man of this calibre Jonathan is simply not fit to be a leader.

Imagine slashing the pump price of fuel, slashing electricity tariffs, gaining grounds on the war on terror (calling his siblings to order), compensating victims of the murders committed by NIS, visiting Atiku like a thief in the night (1am), implementing confab report, all in the twilight of his tenure. Who does he think he's fooling??

We will never forget sir you don't give a damn.

omenka:
Now tell me, what am I supposed to tell my kids were my reasons for supporting a man of this calibre Jonathan is simply not fit to be a leader.

Imagine slashing the pump price of fuel, slashing electricity tariffs, gaining grounds on the war on terror (calling his siblings to order), compensating victims of the murders committed by NIS, visiting Atiku like a thief in the night (1am), implementing confab report, all in the twilight of his tenure. Who does he think he's fooling??

We will never forget sir you don't give a damn.

Well said. He just woke up from his slumber at the extra time thinking he can fool us as usual. Only fools can be fooled.