NATIONAL leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP , yesterday, lampooned leaders of All Progressive Congress, APC, for planning to snub the proposed National Conference by President Goodluck Jonathan, saying the APC had nothing to offer during the dialogue.
The APC leaders, did not help matters, yesterday, as they differed on the necessity to hold the conference.
Speaking with newsmen, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, noted that the proposed conference was not for political parties, but for Nigerians, arguing that if a particular party does not have anything to offer, there was nothing PDP could do.
Said he: “What else can they say, there is nothing they can say except to promote discord, disunity and cause confusion in the country. Market women, National Assembly members have welcomed the conference. Nigerians have welcomed the conference. Traditional and religious leaders and the civil society, have embraced the dialogue. If they are boycotting, it is because they have nothing to contribute to the progress of the nation.
“If they do not want to participate, Nigerians should note that they have absolutely nothing to offer this country. The reason for national conference is for Nigerians to come up with ideas on how the nation can move forward.”
It will be recalled that the APC had at the end of its National Executive Committee, NEC, on Tuesday, declared that President Goodluck Jonathan lacked credibility to initiate a meaningful national dialogue, adding that it would not participate in the proposed national conference initiated by the Federal Government and called on APC controlled states to boycott it.
APC leaders differ on national confab
Meanwhile, coming few days after APC national leader and former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu dismissed the confab as diversionary, those who were in support of the confab were former Deputy Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora; APC chieftain, Senator Anthony Adefuye and Asiwaju Olorunfunmi Basorun, party chieftain and the Asiwaju of Igbogbo Land, Ikorodu.
However, the party’s Chairman in Lagos, Chief Henry Ajomale and Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman, House Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Federal House of Representatives, were on the same page with Bola Tinubu, cautioning that the confab was diversionary.
They spoke yesterday at the public presentation of the book entitled: “Nigeria of my Dream” authored by Asiwaju Olorunfunmi Basorun, to commemorate his 75th Birthday, in Ikorodu, Lagos.
Speaking at the event, Dabiri-Erewa said: “I’m on the side of my party, the question we have raised is what’s the underlying motive behind the national conference. At this point in time, what we need is good governance in Nigeria. We need good leadership in Nigeria. We need good infrastructure. Nigerians want to live together as one, there’s no doubt about that.
“So, anything that will truncate 2015 elections should not be allowed by us. I support the position of my party that we should be careful and look at the underlying motives and intentions. Most importantly is that let free and fair elections count in Nigeria. The moment Nigerians know that one vote counts, things will change. I can’t really prophesy if anything good or bad can come out of this national conference. But now, I stand with the position of my party.”
Similarly, Ajomale said, “I sincerely stand on the position of our party, that the confab is needless, as it won’t be different from the previous one we have held. We believe that this confab is a distraction, considering the timing. We believe that the timing is too short for all ethnic nationalities to converge to discuss the way forward for this country.
Contrarily, Sen. Mamora opined that his party irrespective of what is termed the disguised intentions of the President, his party should participate in the conference.
He said: “For me, I have an approach, which is that you don’t boycott anything. Particularly, something that you don’t have absolute control over. Because you may discover that at the end of the day, you must have shot yourself in the foot. So, irrespective of reservations, irrespective of what might sound as disguised intention of Mr. President, irrespective of reservations concerning the outcome, I think we should participate as a party. Dialogue in any form is an opportunity to share positions. And to that extent, I think APC should participate.”
“Now, having said that, reservations are there, one of which is the fact that we saw it before. We saw it under the President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration. What came out of it? Again, in the absence of an enabling instrument, of an enabling law, an enabling act, you don’t build something on nothing. We are not under the military, where things are put in place with the instrument of decrees. As this is a civilian administration, Mr. President has no right to make a proclamation in that regard, without a backing of law. Because sovereignty belongs to the people.”
Adding, “Again, one of my concerns is what happens in the absence of an enabling act to set up the national conference. It means that whatever comes out of it as proposal or has recommendations will have to go to the national assembly for incorporation into the constitution by way of amendment. And this is where the problem lies. So, by the way we are going, it doesn’t seem to me that we would be able to side-track or bye-pass the national assembly.
“As people are saying they don’t want the national assembly to ratify, well the ideal situation is to have the recommendations ratified through a referendum, but we can’t do that without an enabling act, because our present constitution does not provide for a referendum. Referendum is what is ideal, so that you can be sure that whatever comes out of the confab will not be tampered with or mutilated. Because if it’s going to the national assembly, it will be subjected to various public hearings again and also the decisions of the national assembly must be sent to the State Assemblies for two-third concurrence.
“These are the issues. So, whatever, the national assembly’s position is on this matter, it must not be beyond the provisions of Section 9 of the 1999 constitution as amended, which provides that the proposal will be passed at the national assembly and then there must be a two-third concurrence of the State assemblies. So these are the anxieties and concerns.”
Also in support of the confab is the author, Asiwaju Basorun. “I believe in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and I will support every cause that will keep Nigeria one. So, for the national confab to come, people have been talking of no-go areas. I think there are no no-go areas. If we don’t avoid this word no-go-area, we may find ourselves where we don’t expect. Certainly, for me, the no-go-area we should all canvass for is that Nigeria must remain a country, that is united and indivisible,” he said while giving his vote of thanks.
On his part, Sen. Anthony Adefuye said: “We have been agitating for this conference for a long time. I think we should seize the opportunity to go to the conference. And put the positions of the Yorubas known to everybody. For the conference to represent the people of Nigeria, I want all the Governors, past Presidents, all the executives of the national assembly and all the ethnic groups must be well represented. Also, the resolutions from the confab must be sent to the national assembly for ratification.”
No comments:
Post a Comment