Nomination of the delegates was supposed to have begun by yesterday (Thursday), according to government, and will last till February 20.
Anyim Pius Anyim
Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim, disclosed government’s position while releasing the report of the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue headed by Femi Okunronmu in Abuja.
He said the conference is expected to hold in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and will last for three months, even though he did not announce the commencement date.
Anyim stated that the conference shall discuss any subject matter, “except the indivisibility and indissolubility of Nigeria as a nation”, saying the unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable.
According to Anyim, the Conference itself would advise government on the legal framework, legal procedures and options for integrating the decisions and outcomes of the National Conference into the Constitution and laws of the country.
President Goodluck Jonathan is to nominate “37 elder statesmen”, one per state and the FCT, among the delegates.
Again, the Federal Government shall nominate 20 delegates with at least six of them being women.
State governments and the FCT would nominate a total of 109 delegates.
Three will come from each state and one from FCT.
In addition, the President shall nominate three delegates on behalf of the Chairman, Deputy Chair and Secretary of the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue.
Anyim said decisions at the National Conference shall be by consensus, noting that where consensus was not achieved, it shall be by 75 per cent majority.
There shall be 18 nominees from retired military and security personnel to be drawn from the Military, Police, State Security and NIA, one per geo-political zone.
Thirteen traditional rulers, two per zone plus one for FCT, six retired civil servants, one per zone, are also to be part of the delegates.
Others are 12 representatives each from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) with nominations to reflect geo-political and gender balance.
The organised private sector comprising NECA, MAN, NACCIMA and NESG are to provide eight delegates.
Nigeria youth organisations comprising the National Youth Council of Nigeria, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), including other outstanding youths and role models, are to produce 18 delegates with one per geo-political zone.
Women groups comprising the National Council for Women Societies (NCWS), Market Women Associations, FIDA, NAWOJ and WINBIZ are to collectively produce 24 delegates.
Political parties such as PDP, APC, APGA, Accord Party and Labour Party are to produce 12 delegates, two each per party.
Muslim and Christian leaders are to produce six nominees each, Civil Society Organisations are to produce 24 delegates, while Nigerians in Diaspora (Europe, America, Africa, Asia and Middle East) are to nominate eight persons, two per location.
People living with disabilities are to have six nominees; Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) will produce two nominees; Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) two nominees; Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) two nominees; and Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) two nominees.
Socio-political/cultural and ethnic national groups are to produce 90 delegates, 15 per geo-political zone.
Professional bodies comprising NBA, NSE, CIB, NMA, NIM, NIA, ICAN, ANAN, NIPR, AAPN, NIESV, and Nigerian Environmental Society are to produce 13 delegates one per organisation.
Those in the academia comprising Academy of Science, Engineering, Education, Academy of Letters as well as Academy of Social Sciences are to collectively nominate five delegates one per Academy.
Six persons in the judiciary sector not currently serving on the bench are to be nominated by stakeholders in the sector.
Also former political office holders such as former Governors, Senators Forum, House of Representatives Forum and Association of former Speakers will produce six delegates each, one per geo-political zone, to make up a total of 24 delegates.
Former local government chairmen have six delegates to produce with one from each geo-political zone and
Anyim said the list of nominees should be submitted either online to www.osgf.gov.ng or in hard copy to the Office of the Permanent Secretary (Special Duties) Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
He noted that formal inauguration of the conference shall follow after the nominations have been received and collated.
Reiterating Jonathan’s stand on the National Conference, Anyim quoted him as having said: “Sitting down to talk is one right step in calming down tensions and channeling our grievances, misgivings and suggestions into more positive use for the good of our country.
“The President stated as well that in any case, Nigerians are already talking about their national challenges through the print and electronic media.
“The only gap is that while these talks are sometimes weighty, they often lack direction.”
Anyim noted that one of the objectives for setting up the Committee was to lend weight and direction to the National Dialogue.
“You may also recall that Mr. President has also allayed ‘the fears of those who think the National Dialogue will call the integrity of Nigeria into question’”, adding, “This National Dialogue will strengthen our union and address issues that are often on the front burner, but too frequently ignored.
“Mr. President emphasised that ‘this is a National Project, a sincere and fundamental undertaking, aimed at realistically examining and genuinely resolving, long-standing impediments to our cohesion and harmonious development as a truly United Nation’”.
REF http://dailyindependentnig.com/2014/01/fg-okays-492-delegates-for-confab/
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