President Muhammadu Buhari will not
implement the report of the 2014 National Conference convened by former
President Goodluck Jonathan, The PUNCH has learnt.
A top government official confided in
our correspondent on Tuesday that Buhari was not favourably disposed to
the implementation of the report despite the fact that Jonathan handed
over the document to him alongside his (Jonathan’s) handover note.
Jonathan had, during his handover
ceremony on May 28, told Buhari that the confab report was more
important than his handover note.
Shortly before he left office, the former President had forwarded the report to the National Assembly for action.
But
the Presidency source told one of our correspondents that Buhari would
not implement it because he never believed in the conference.
Rather, he said the President would stick to the recommendations of his transition committee led by Ahmed Joda.
The source also recalled that the ruling
All Progressives Congress which was in opposition during Jonathan’s
administration did not take part in the conference despite the fact that
its leadership was formally asked to send representatives.
He said, “President Buhari never
believed in the National Conference. His position is not different from
that of his party, the APC, which snubbed the invitation to send
representatives to the confab.
“The conference and its report are
Jonathan’s babies and you won’t expect this administration to implement
the report, especially in this era that all we have been doing is to try
and clear the rot left behind by the same administration.
“The President had not even at any time made any reference to the report. It is not on his agenda.”
Jonathan, had during his different
meetings with traditional rulers from the South-West ahead of the March
28 presidential election, promised to ensure the implementation of the
conference’s report if re-elected.
He had argued that since the APC refused
to take part in the conference, a government formed by the party would
not implement the report.
Apparently confirming Jonathan’s
position, Buhari had also at a time taken a swipe at the Federal
Government over the conference, saying that billions of naira was spent
on it.
The Federal Executive Council led by Jonathan had on March 18 approved the report of the conference led by Justice Idris Kutigi.
The then Secretary to the Government of
the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim, had told reporters that the approval
was the first leg of the steps aimed at implementing the conference
report.
Anyim had said recommendations and
resolutions that require constitutional amendment and enactment of new
laws would be forwarded to the National Assembly.
He added that agencies’ policy matters
in the report shall be referred to the affected agencies and the tier of
government concerned – whether federal, state or local governments, for
action.
Anyim said while the process leading to
the implementation of the report might not end during the Jonathan
administration’s tenure, a bold step forward had been taken with the
approval.
The National Conference recommended that
anybody aspiring to become the country’s President must be a degree
holder, among other recommendations.
When contacted, Buhari’s spokesperson, Mr. Femi Adesina, said he has no information on the matter.
He said, ‘‘The President will do what is in the best interest of Nigerians.’’
The National Publicity Secretary of the
All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said, “Like I said
before, we will look at the document and any area that is beneficial to
Nigeria and Nigerians will be considered.”
But some delegates to the 2014 National
Conference have called on Buhari not to dump the report of the confab
and its recommendations.
A delegate, who is the Ondo State
Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Sola Ebiseni, and the National
Publicity Secretary of a pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, Mr. Yinka
Odumakin, who represented the South- West, argued that restructuring was
imperative.
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