Delegate opposes confab outcome going to N’Assembly

Posted by admin Legislature, Senate Wednesday, April 9th, 2014

A delegate to the National Conference yesterday opposed plans by President Goodluck Jonathan to send the outcome of the conference to the National Assembly for deliberations.

He said with the skewed nomenclature of the National Assembly, the outcome of the conference will not see the light of day.

Senator Femi Okurounmu, representing elder statesmen, said that the current structure of the National Assembly is tilted towards a particular section of the country. Apparently referring to the North where there had been a stiff opposition to the conference, Okurounmu opted for a referendum.

Okurounmu, who chaired the advisory committee, said that subjecting the outcome of the conference to a referendum will afford Nigerians the opportunity to play a participatory role in the future and destiny of their country. To him, Nigerians must be carried along in the drafting of a new roadmap for the country.

He said, “ we have to be sincere with ourselves, the report of this conference must be subjected to referendum. The National Assembly as we have it today is skewed in favour of a section of this country, I don’t see any good thing coming out of the report if it is sent there”.

Contributing to the debate on the President’s inaugural speech , a youth delegate, representing the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Sylvester Okoh, urged delegates to ensure that the current curriculum of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) be reviewed and extend free education up to the Senior Secondary School level.

For former governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Osoba, there was the need to return the structure of the country to regionalism. Osoba, who is representing the governors’ forum, wondered why a state like Lagos with over 20million people will have 20 local governments and Kano State has over 40. He said the imbalance must be corrected.

Osoba also faulted the stance of some retired military generals who have alleged that civilians are behind the series of coups that toppled civilian regimes in the country. Osoba told delegates that those coups were executed by civilian contractors with the support of the military.

-Sunwp_posts