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Reconvenes August 4 for report
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Throws resource control back to FG
By Mike Odiakose
Plenary session of the National Conference came to a close yesterday, without any agreement on the controversial issues of resource control and the proposed intervention fund for states ravaged by the activities of Boko Haram sect and other insurgents.
Controversy had trailed the increase in derivation fund from 13 to 18 percent and the National Intervention Fund since Tuesday last week and several meetings of the Consensus Committee and the Leaders of Delegates ended in stalemate.
The committee had recommended an upward review of the derivation formula from 13 to 18 percent, increase in the solid mineral development fund from three to five percent and five percent for intervention fund for areas affected by terrorism in the country.
This third recommendation sparked off crisis at the conference.
The agreement read: “There shall be a National Intervention Fund which will be five percent of the annual revenue accruing to the account of the Federal Government for the stabilisation, rehabilitation and reconstruction of areas affected by terrorism and insurgency, in the first instance in the North-East of Nigeria and any other parts of the country affected.”
While delegates from the North-West and North-Central had insisted that they should be direct beneficiaries of the fund with the North-East in the first instance, other delegates maintained that only the North-East should be first beneficiaries while the other five zones affected by activities of the insurgents should also benefit from the fund.
When the conference reconvened again yesterday, its leadership went into another closed door meeting from 10am to 2.40 pm.
After the marathon meeting, the conference chairman, Justice Idris Kutigi, announced that they could not reach a consensus and have resolved to maintain the status quo of 13 percent derivation and reversed all other decisions taken on the issue by the conference.
According to him, “Conference examined the issues in contention and recognizes the need to review the percentage of revenue allocation to states producing oil and other resources; reconstruct and rehabilitate areas affected with insurgency and internal conflicts and diversify the Nigerian economy by strengthening it with the solid minerals sector.
“The conference also noted that assigning percentage for increase in derivation principle and setting up special intervention fund to address issues of reconstruction and the rehabilitation of areas ravaged by insurgency and internal conflicts, as well as solid minerals development, requires technical details and consideration.
“Conference therefore recommends that government should setup a technical committee to determine appropriate percentage for the three issues and advised government accordingly.”
A delegate from Bayelsa State, Chief Francis Doukpola, raised a point of order based on Order 9 (9) and reminded the chairman that the conference had taken a decision on fiscal federalism on July 4, 2014 and it is against the rules of the house to revisit any decision already taken.
Justice Kutigi overruled Chief Doukpola and declared “this effectively brings us to the end of this debate.”
The chairman consequently called on Musa Adede to move a motion for the adoption of the report of the Committee on Devolution of Power.
He also announced that the delegates will reconvene on August 4 to adopt the report of the conference for onward transmission to the Federal Government.